


The Blue Ribbon

by reallyqween_92



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - High School, Bullying, Childhood, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Family Issues, Fluff, Gangs, Happy Ending, Injury, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-11-29 14:11:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 37,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11442525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reallyqween_92/pseuds/reallyqween_92
Summary: Clarke was Lexa's bully in the 2nd grade, but suddenly transferred halfway through the school year around the time Lexa was removed from her foster home. Now, 8 years later, Lexa is captain of the Polis High School soccer team, and is always flanked by her best friends, Raven and Octavia. Then, a few weeks into their sophomore year, Clarke suddenly transfers to Polis High and turns Lexa's whole world upside down. She has residual resentment towards Clarke at first, but slowly she begins to feel something a little bit more than just anger. And Clarke has her own secrets, some that trace all the way back to 2nd grade.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for checking out my work! This is the first fanfic I have ever posted, so bear with me. The first two chapters are going to be a little short, but after that they will get longer. I do plan on finishing this fic and will update it a few times a week. Hope you enjoy it!

It was only the third week of 2nd grade, but Lexa already wanted to disappear. Every day was some new torment for her and she just kept trying to will herself invisible. It wasn’t working very well. For the dozenth time that hour she pushed her new glasses up her little nose. She had only had them two weeks now, her new teacher had noticed that she had trouble reading the board and tended to run into things. Her foster parents had said it was just because she was clumsy and not very bright. She liked her new teacher, Ms. Indra, she paid more attention to Lexa than any adult ever had before. Ms. Indra was strict, but Lexa felt safer with her around. Lexa, however, did not like her new glasses. Sure, she could see now, but it brought on a whole nother type of bullying. Now, she was the dork with ratty clothes who was too scared to speak to anyone but the teacher, plus huge glasses that made her eyes look twice as big.

  
“Hey,” Lexa cringed at the voice, she just wanted to be ignored. “Look at little four eyes, look at what she is wearing!” A little boy with a mop of brown hair and a sprinkling of freckles across his nose came up to Lexa’s desk where she was quietly doing her work. She hoped that the teacher returned from the office soon.  
“Yeah, what is she wearing Finn?” Responded another boy behind him with a crooked nose.  
“Well, it looks like whatever she found in the lost in found this morning. Guess those granny glasses don’t help you see to dress yourself.” The two boys laughed and Lexa stared harder at her work as the boys walked away. Her clothes weren’t that bad, were they? Sure, she didn’t have nice dresses like the other girls in class, but her clothes were clean. A few minutes later there were 3 shadows hovering over Lexa’s desk.  
“Do you ever speak at all? Are you mute?” Lexa looked up into the bright blue eyes of her worst tormentor, flanked by her two dark haired best friends. Clarke wore a sneer on her little apple cheeks and a blue bow tried to hold back the cascade of blonde curls that fell down her shoulders. She was so pretty it made Lexa nervous, but she was so mean that it made Lexa scared. “Hellooo, are you deaf too?” Octavia waved a hand in her face and Clarke giggled.  
“Please go away.” Lexa almost whispered, she had meant it to be louder.  
“Oh, it does speak! Too bad it can’t see.” Clarke quickly grabbed Lexa’s glasses off her face, and handed them to Octavia who immediately put them on.  
“Look at me, I’m the little teacher’s pet! I’m scared of everything and nobody likes me!” Octavia said in a silly voice as she bumped into things marching around. The class was already rowdy, but a few other kids joined in laughing. Lexa just sat in her chair with her eyes down and her hands in her lap. Sometimes she would go after them, but that only ever resulted in more embarrassment for herself and a few unnecessary bruises. Eventually they would get bored and leave her alone. After a few minutes the three girls returned to Lexa’s desk.

  
“So Lexa, did your mommy forget to pack you lunch again today? I guess even she doesn’t like you very much.” Clarke knew that Lexa sometimes didn’t have lunch and wondered why.  
“My name is Alexandria, only my friends can call me Lexa.” Lexa managed to squeak out between her teeth. The incredulous look that Clarke gave her made her want to hide in her tangled brown hair.  
“Well, Alexandria, you don’t have any friends anyway, just the teacher.” Raven responded with a smirk.  
“Yeah, and maybe some books. All you ever do at recess is read weirdo.” Octavia added and high-fived Raven.  
“I do too have friends, just not here.” Lexa protested. Clarke raised a tiny eyebrow.  
“Oh yeah, like your big sister that doesn’t even live with you? Yeah,I heard the teacher talking about it the other day. I bet your sister doesn’t even like you since she never comes to visit you.” Clarke took the glasses back from Octavia and crossed her arms. Lexa’s cheeks turned red. It was true, she almost never saw Anya, but she knew Anya loved her, right? She was silent for a few moments.  
“Well, I guess she is back to silence then. I’m bored.” Octavia said, so Clarke shrugged and turned to go.  
“Guess you don’t need these.” She held up the glasses as she walked away.  
“Wait, give them back!” Lexa jumped up to follow after them, but without her glasses she stumbled into a desk and ran right into Clarke’s back, knocking her to the floor. Clarke landed hard, crushing the blue bow as her head hit the floor with a muffled thump. Lexa froze.  
“What’s wrong with you, you spaz?” Octavia yelled at her as Raven helped Clarke up. Clarke rubbed the back of her head, tears clouding her blue eyes.  
“I-I-I’m so-” Lexa stuttered and was cut off when she was harshly shoved over backwards into a desk.

  
“Don’t you ever hurt Clarke!” Finn yelled, towering over Lexa. In the scuffle, Lexa’s too big t-shirt had come up and as Clarke turned to yell at Lexa for pushing her she went silent. She saw the bruises that bloomed up Lexa’s ribs on one side and were visible through the holes in her tights. Clarke knew that those didn’t come from another child. Lexa caught Clarke’s blue eyes for a split second, seeing pity, fear, and maybe even sympathy pass through them. All Clarke saw in Lexa’s eyes was fear, before she quickly tore away from the gaze and struggled to pull her shirt back down. Clarke took a step towards Lexa, but before she could say anything, their teacher burst into the room.  
“What on earth is going on in here!?” She yelled, heading straight towards Lexa to help her up. The other students scrambled to get back in their desks while Ms. Indra stood Lexa up and asked if she was alright.  
“What happened here? I told you to work on your assignment quietly.” Lexa just looked at her worn out sneakers, there was a hole in one that let water in when it rained. Clarke pointed to Finn.  
“He pushed her cause she pushed me.” Ms. Indra narrowed her eyes.  
“I feel like there is more to the story than that.” She turned to Lexa. “Where are your glasses?” Lexa just shrugged. If she ratted them out, she knew they would get punished but it would only make them even meaner to her.  
“They’re on her desk, right here.” Octavia walked over and picked up the glasses, pushing them into Lexa’s hands. “Here.” Ms. Indra nodded.  
“What do we say Lexa?”  
“Thank you.” Lexa whispered, defeated.  
“Now, I would like to talk to all 5 of you before recess today, but right now we are going to continue with class.” Indra stood up and told everyone to get back in their seats for the next lesson. Lexa cleaned her glasses carefully and pushed them up her nose, waiting for them to slide back down as she stared at her desk. She dreaded recess. All 5 of them ended up with detention for two days at lunch and recess, but Lexa didn’t mind. She already spent that time sitting quietly and reading. It was kind of relaxing to be expected to do that now.

  
Six weeks later DHS came to her house and removed Lexa from her foster parents. Her teacher had reported them for abuse. She was placed with her uncle Gustus who had just moved back from Norway and soon her sister Anya joined them as well. Gus was new to parenting, but he tried his best to take good care of the girls. Lexa was so much happier with this family. After Christmas that year Clarke didn’t return to school and the bullying mostly stopped. Lexa heard rumors that Clarke’s dad had been killed in an accident with her mother, but by the end of the school year Lexa had all but forgotten about the blonde haired girl with the bright blue eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

8 Years Later  
“Wooo!!” Lexa yelled, running into the girl’s locker room, quickly followed by her sweaty, muddy team screaming along.   
“Dude, we crushed them!” Octavia yelled and high-fived Lexa. The rest of the team agreed, exchanging high-fives and grins. They had had just beaten their all-time soccer rivals Mt. Weather High in the first game of the season and they were pumped. Lexa was the first sophomore to be team captain. Octavia had joined the team 3 years before. After all the congratulating was done, Lexa hopped in the shower, letting the hot water unknot her tight muscles and wash the dirt and sweat off her tan body. When she got out she carefully braided her long, wavy hair and took out her contacts, slipping her sleek glasses up her nose.   
That night the team went out for milkshakes and french fries at the local diner. Soccer had been Lexa’s ticket to the top. Polis High loved their soccer team, and after two years of taking them to the championships, Lexa was the queen. She was popular, confident and beautiful, her grades were impeccable and no one would ever dare bully her now. Especially with the whole team backing her.

“So Commander,” Octavia said through a mouthful of fries, “do you think we can make it to the championships three years in a row?”  
“I plan on it.” The rest of the team cheered happily. Lexa was a good captain, tough, but good.  
“I sure hope we go this year, I missed out last year when I broke my toe.” Whined Monroe.  
“Hey, that was your fault anyway, you shouldn’t have kicked that sign.” Harper teased back. Lexa turned to the quiet girl next to her.  
“What do you think Tris? You excited?”  
“Me? I’m just a freshmen, will I even get to play if we go to championships?” Lexa smiled warmly, Tris’s timidness reminded her a lot of herself a few years earlier.  
“Of course, you’re a part of the team, just like everyone else here!”  
“Yeah! One of us, one of us!” Octavia started a to chant and a few other girls joined in until Tris started to laugh.   
“Hey, can I be one of you losers too?” Interrupted a sarcastic voice.   
“Raven!” Octavia beamed, still riding the high from their win.  
“Only if you wanna actually play soccer.” Teased Lexa as Raven scooted into the booth next to Octavia and scrunched up her nose.  
“Hard pass, I’ll stick to the more sciency things thank you.”  
“Whatever nerd.” Octavia stuck out her tongue as Raven reached for her fries. Lexa turned back to the other girls, catching the first part of a whisper from Raven to Octavia. 

“Did you tell her yet?” Octavia’s response was lost over the roar of the conversation around them, but Lexa wondered what it was about. Once they are all done, they climbed into their respective cars. Raven gave Octavia a ride home and Lexa dropped Tris and Harper off in their neighborhood before driving back to her uncle’s house. Gustus was waiting for her out on the porch and wrapped her up in a bear hug.  
“Good job kiddo, Anya told me about the win when she got home. I wish I could have been there, but work never seems to end. You sure have grown up into one hell of a young woman.”  
“Please don’t cry Gus.” Lexa said smiling.  
“I’m just proud of you.” Gus released her and she smiled. Her life had gotten so much better with Gus and Anya. She would always feel gratitude towards her 2nd grade teacher for getting her out of that foster home. Lexa smiled and headed upstairs to get ready for bed.  
The next morning Lexa walked confidently into the school building, getting high fives and congrats along the way from her fellow students. Even Murphy, a kid she used to hate, offered her a congrats on the first win of the season. Lexa almost bounced to her locker outside of homeroom, her long, complex braid swinging back and forth behind her. 

“Morning Lexa.”  
“Morning O, did you stay at Raven’s last night?” Octavia nodded and then turned towards Lexa.  
“I’ll see you at lunch.” Lexa nodded, Octavia was usually much more talkative in the mornings, something was bothering her. Lexa quickly shoved a few books in her backpack and grabbed her favorite dark green hoodie for her first class. Bio lab was always freezing. As she approached her homeroom, there was a small group of students outside staring in and whispering. Lexa walked up behind them and carefully peered inside to see who was in trouble this time.   
Instead, she saw the top of a vaguely familiar blonde head that made her stomach clench up a little.

“Is that…?” She trailed off when the girl looked up and locked eyes with her for a split second. Those blue eyes were unmistakable.


	3. Chapter 3

“Clarke Griffin.” Whispered Finn from behind Lexa, making her jump a little bit as she turned to face him. “I heard a rumor that she was transferring after an incident at Arkadia, but I didn’t know she was coming here. Wow, she looks a little rough.” Lexa didn’t respond, she just turned back around to head into her classroom and try not to stare. She sat down in her normal seat on the other side of the room from Clarke and sent Raven a quick text.

[Lexa 7:48am]: “You and O knew, didn’t you?”  
[Raven 7:50am]: “O was supposed to tell you.” 

Lexa rolled her eyes and didn’t respond. She hadn’t seen Clarke since the 2nd grade, not that it mattered at all. Clarke had made her life miserable and she had been relieved when Clarke had transferred. She had heard a few things about her, since Raven kept in contact with Clarke on and off, but otherwise, Clarke hadn’t really crossed her mind much until now. Lexa looked up at her, careful to keep her line of sight vague. Clarke was hunched over her desk, her blonde hair fanned out over her the back. Lexa noticed that it wasn’t curly like it used to be and had relaxed into waves. The very tips of her hair looked like they had been dyed red and then faded to a frazzled pink. It was only the beginning of September, but she was wearing a white sweater and tight black jeans. Lexa wished that she could see her face.

“Alright kids, settle down I have a few announcements this morning.” Their teacher, Dr. Kane walked into the room and everyone got to their desks. “Firstly, I would like to congratulate our amazing soccer team on their first game of the season in which they really kicked some ass, pardon my French, and their fantastic captain.” He gestured towards Lexa and she grinned as everyone clapped. She caught Clarke looking back at her for a split second and her smile faltered. “Okay, secondly, we have a new student.” He gestured to Clarke who stood up slowly next to him. “Why don’t you introduce yourself?” There was a pause.

“Hi, my name is Clarke Griffin and I just transferred from Arkadia.” Dr. Kane nodded and the class said hello as Clarke sat back down. This time Lexa had really gotten a good look at her. Clarke had only gotten more beautiful. She wasn’t nearly as tall and lean as Lexa was, however the way her jeans hugged her hips left Lexa’s mouth dry. Her little apple cheeks were still there, but there were dark circles pressed underneath her bright blue eyes. Lexa ignored the other announcements, just watching Clarke. Before she could say or do anything, the bell rang and she headed off to her class, trying to shake the thoughts out of her head. She didn’t notice that Clarke watched her leave before gathering up her own stuff and heading to class behind her.

“Ow, what th-” Octavia turned around from her locker rubbing her arm where someone had punched it. “Oh, hi Lexa, how was homeroom? Ow!” Lexa punched her again. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry I meant to tell you, but it just didn’t come up.”  
“Why would it have? It’s not like I really care.” Lexa responded, turning immediately away to mess with her own locker. Octavia just leaned back against the lockers and raised her eyebrow. Octavia knew that Lexa might have a reaction to this reunion, but she was surprised by this mixed reaction.  
“Then why did you punch the hell out of my arm? And why are your cheeks pink?” Lexa whipped around and glared at Octavia.  
“They are not!” Lexa snapped and Octavia smirked back at her.  
“Well, they are now.” Octavia paused. “It’s not like the confident commander to get flustered over her old grade school bully like this. Unless…”  
“No Octavia, just no.” 

Lexa stood up straight and gathered her things while Octavia shrugged and headed for her next class with a smug smile dancing across her lips. Lexa took a deep breath and headed into her bio lab, only to stop abruptly in the doorway. There was Clarke, sitting in the empty seat right in front of Lexa’s. Her lab partner, Monty, was already sitting at their table talking to his best friend Jasper, who sat behind them. Clarke sat silently, while everyone else buzzed around her. Lexa wondered why no one was even trying to interact with her. Lexa avoided looking at Clarke as she sat down behind her. She wasn’t ever nervous about eye contact, willing to stare down any opponent on the soccer field or in the halls, but something made her stomach flip when she thought about locking eyes with Clarke.

“Hey, did you hear that she was in juvie for a year?” Jasper whispered to Lexa and her eyes widened. Raven had mentioned she had some trouble, but she hadn’t mentioned anything about juvie. It might have just been a rumor, Lexa wasn’t too sure what to believe. Monty and Jasper had both been in the same 2nd grade class as her and Clarke were, but they generally kept to themselves.They were still pretty inseparable, especially when it came time for the science fair.

“Shut up guys, be nice. It’s her first day here.” Lexa whispered back harshly.  
“Lexa, didn’t she used to make your life a living hell?” Monty said.  
“Yeah, she was a bitch back in elementary school.” Jasper added a little less eloquently.  
“It’s been 8 years guys, I’m not going to hold a grudge that long, and neither should you nerds.”  
“Yeah well, that’s because you got hella hot and popular while she crashed and burned.” Jasper said casually and Lexa smiled a little.  
“We’re still the same nerds we used to be.” Montry added.  
“Well, I’m sure she has changed.”  
Lexa turned back towards her books and thought about it. Clarke had made her life hell, and she had been angry about it for a long time. She wondered if Clarke even remembered who she was and wasn’t sure if she even wanted Clarke to remember. A part of her wanted to make Clarke sorry, if she wasn’t already. But right now, Clarke looked small and cold, sitting alone at her lab table and Lexa had the inexplicable urge to reach out to her.

“Besides, she probably doesn’t remember me anyway.” Lexa whispered to the boys and they shrugged as the teacher came in to start the lesson. Halfway through the lesson, Lexa could swear she could hear Clarke shivering. The bio lab was always freezing, so everyone knew to bring a coat even when it was 90 outside. Everyone except Clarke. Lexa was already wearing her soccer team pullover, so she dug in her backpack and pulled out her hoodie that she had gotten from her locker earlier. After a few moments of deliberation, she reached out and tapped Clarke on the shoulder, ignoring the tingling in her finger. 

Clarke jumped and turned around. Up close, Clarke was even more beautiful than Lexa had thought. Her heart shaped face was framed perfectly by her long blonde hair, her full, pink lips were slightly parted and her crystal blue eyes were just like Lexa remembered them. The only difference was a small white scar that started above her eye and went into her hairline. Lexa quickly swallowed.

“Here, it’s always freezing in here.” She offered the hoodie to Clarke who just stared at her for a few seconds, before shaking her head. “No really, you’re just going to get colder.” This time Clarke reached out and took the hoodie gingerly, their fingers brushing together for just a second. Lexa pulled her hand back like she had been electrocuted and forced a small smile at Clarke, who let a ghost of a smile pass over her lips. Right before she turned back around Clarke spoke in a slightly more husky voice than Lexa expected.  
“Thank you, Alexandria.” Clarke put a particular emphasis on her name. Lexa was stunned, Clarke did remember her. Clarke remembered it all and Lexa couldn’t help the anger that rose in her throat. Was Clarke mocking her? Was Clarke sorry? But then Lexa looked up to see Clarke had put on her hoodie and her heart melted a little. It was at least a size too big for her, since Lexa was taller and more muscular, and she looked adorable in it. Meanwhile, Monty and Jasper were just watching this exchange with wide eyes.  
After class, Clarke wordlessly returned the hoodie to Lexa with a nod before hurrying to her next class. Lexa just stood there for a second, before Monroe came up behind her and elbowed her.

“Gosh Lexa, you sure move fast. Hitting on the hot new girl already?” Lexa’s face flushed and she turned her head.  
“I wasn’t hitting on her, I just figured she was cold. Besides, I went to elementary school with her.” Lexa said absently. Monty and Jasper walked up behind her.  
“Yeah, that was Lexa’s bully when she was just a tiny nerdling.” Jasper added and Monroe’s eyes widened.  
“Oh yeah? I can’t really imagine anyone bullying the commander.” Lexa rolled her eyes at them both.  
“I used to be smaller.” Lexa waved her hand, signaling the end of the discussion, and the boys shared a knowing look with Monroe that said they would explain more later. They walked to their next class in relative silence. Lexa enjoyed history class, she liked learning about what had and had not worked out in the past. It was also the only class that she had with all of her close friends. She entered the classroom flanked by Jasper and Monty, to see Raven and Octavia already there. They were both standing around a desk in the corner talking animatedly. Lexa wasn’t surprised when she saw blonde hair and heard Clarke’s voice. Of course she was in this class too. Of course. 

As Lexa sat down among her other friends in the class, a seed of doubt begin to grow inside of her. She watched the way Octavia and Raven were talking to Clarke and the thought crossed her mind that maybe, just maybe, they were going to go back to being Clarke’s lackies instead of her friends. Lexa quickly shook her head, there was no way. But she still couldn’t quite banish the slight uneasiness from her mind as class started. Raven and Octavia sat in their normal seats to the right of Lexa, Monty and Jasper behind her, and Monroe and Harper to her left. Clarke sat just on the other side of Raven, by the window. After about half an hour of class, Lexa’s phone buzzed and she unlocked it under her desk.

[Raven 10:02am]: “Is it just me, or do you keep staring my way? Do I have something in my teeth or…?”  
[Lexa 10:03am]: “Don’t worry about it.”  
[Raven 10:05am]: “Oh shit, I get it. You’re looking straight through me, aren’t you?”  
Lexa rolled her eyes and shoved her phone back in her pocket, only to feel it vibrate again in a second.  
[Raven 10:06am]: “You can ignore me all you want Lexa, but I know you. And you know I’ll call you out on this stuff. You may be the commander to your team, but I am the great Raven Reyes! Just know I got your back.”

Lexa looked over, this time at Raven who winked at her and leaned a little back in her chair so Lexa had a better view of Clarke. Lexa could feel her cheeks heat up a little, but she was grateful for Raven being her friend. Octavia had missed the whole exchange, she was busy texting her new crush. After history, Lexa headed to her advanced Calculus class with Raven by her side. Octavia was horrible at math, so she was in a different class. Monty and Jasper had AP Statistics with Harper and Monroe. Lexa watched out of the corner of her eye as Clarke followed Octavia into her math class.  
“So, you’re keeping a close eye on Clarke today.” Raven commented when they had sat down in their class before the bell rang.  
“She is new, new people are interesting.” Lexa shrugged noncommittally, trying to brush off any insinuations.  
“Uh-huh. Sure. I think you have a crush. In fact, I suspect you might have had a crush on her in, I don’t know, 2nd grade maybe?”  
“Now that’s just untrue, I hated all three of you in 2nd grade.”  
“Yeah, yeah, sure. I’m not quite buying that. I know we were shitty, but we were also 7. Plus, you’re hella gay.”  
“Where are you going with this?”  
“I’m just saying, you forgave us, maybe if you forgive her you’ll gain another good friend, or maybe even something more.” Raven turned in her desk and got out her books while Lexa just stared at her.  
“Wait, is Clarke gay?” Lexa couldn’t help but ask, immediately clapping her hand over her mouth after the words slipped out. Raven shrugged back.  
“Beats me, but I think there was a reason that she bullied you back then, and it wasn’t your glasses.” Lexa sat back as class began and thought about Raven’s last statement. A reason? Like what? Clarke didn’t seem like the gay type, but then again, there wasn’t really a singular type of gay. She didn’t even know Clarke, it had been 8 years and a lot had changed. Before she knew it, the bell rang for lunch and Raven was dragging her into the cafeteria by her sleeve, still lost in thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Lexa sat at one of the long lunch tables after grabbing her lunch out of her backpack. Her older sister loved to cook and took great pleasure in preparing lunches for Lexa since she was on a health kick when it was soccer season. Her other friends quickly joined her, as well as some of her teammates. She looked up when she heard Octavia’s loud voice and saw her leading Clarke over to their table. Lexa swallowed hard, she really didn’t know how to interact with Clarke. Was she still holding a grudge against her? That was way too childish, but for some reason Clarke made her feel uncomfortable. A feeling that Lexa had gotten unused to in the past few years. Lexa decided to focus on her food. Raven scooted in next to Lexa and Octavia sat down with Clarke opposite of them. Monty and Jasper looked up from their conversation at the end of the table with Harper and Monroe, but quickly resumed.

“Hey guys, look who I found in my loser math class.” Octavia grinned and elbowed Clarke a little. Clarke looked up and immediately locked eyes with Lexa, who quickly returned to staring at her lunch.  
“Hi.” Clarke said.  
“Clarke, this is the crew. You remember Lexa, right? And over there is Jasper and Monty, who are still unsalvageable nerds. Talking to them are Harper and Monroe, they’re on the soccer team with Lexa.” Everyone said hello or gestured to Clarke, who smiled back a little hesitantly.  
“So,” Jasper slid down the table until he was next to Clarke, “Why did you transfer here? We heard that it was because of...” Octavia swatted his arm. “Ow, what? It was just a question.”  
“You idiots leave her alone, she doesn’t need you spreading rumors about her because your lives are boring.” Jasper raised his hands and slid back a little bit.  
“Fine, fine, It was just an innocent question.” While they continued to argue, Lexa found herself the subject of Clarke’s stare. She desperately tried to focus on anything else, keeping her eyes down, she squirmed.  
“Soccer huh?” Clarke remarked in her slightly husky voice.  
“Yep.” Lexa replied curtly, not looking up.  
“I didn’t know you were the athletic type.”  
“Well, you don’t really know me at all.” It came out a little harsher than Lexa meant it to and she cringed internally at the way Clarke’s face had fallen momentarily.  
“I guess that is true. I haven’t seen you since 2nd grade.” Clarke sighed.

Lexa was about to respond when a few of her friends from the boy’s soccer team came over to congratulate the girl’s team on their win. The boys had lost their match, but at Polis High that was typical. Lexa brightened up and spoke enthusiastically to them about the game. Clarke just watched, mesmerized. This definitely wasn’t the same nerdy, insecure, green-eyed little girl she had known before. This Alexandria owned this school and knew it.

As the boys left, calling her commander as they did, Clarke focused back on her lunch. She wasn’t really hungry at all, it had been a weird day and it was only lunch time. Mostly, she just wanted a second with Lexa in order to clear the air between them. But with Raven and Octavia, as well as the rest of the school constantly there, she wasn’t sure she would get a chance. So instead, she settled for just listening to the conversations going on around her and casting furtive glances over at Lexa every little bit. What she didn’t notice was Lexa, doing the exact same thing. Eventually the bell rang and everyone began to clear out of the cafeteria. As Lexa was getting up to clear her trash Clarke spoke again.  
“Thanks again for letting me borrow your hoodie this morning, I’ll remember to bring my own tomorrow.” Lexa nodded, caught a little off-guard. Raven and Octavia exchanged an intrigued look, but decided to pursue that particular question at a later time. After lunch, they all continued on to their afternoon classes. Lexa found that she had one other class with Clarke, her English class that was second to last period. It was the only class she had with none of her close friends. There were a few soccer kids there, but not the ones that she spent time with outside of school and practice.

“Do you mind if I sit next to you?” Clarke asked walking in. Lexa nodded, still unsure about how she felt about the blonde. The rest of the class she spent trying desperately to concentrate on Shakespeare and only catching every 8th word the teacher said. It was infuriating. By the time Lexa was about to pop a vein trying to not think about or look at Clarke, she was startled by a note being pushed onto her desk. She looked up and momentarily locked eyes with Clarke before they both quickly looked away. Lexa unfolded the note carefully. The first thing that struck her was how pretty the cursive writing was. Lexa had never quite mastered cursive, but had always wanted to.  
The note read “Hey, do you want to maybe talk after school? Clear the air or something?” Lexa’s stomach sunk. She didn’t want to have a confrontation with Clarke yet, she didn’t even know how she felt about her yet. She quickly wrote a response and slipped the note back onto Clarke’s desk. Clarke picked it up and almost smiled at the crooked handwriting that was so very Lexa.

“Sorry, I have soccer practice.” Clarke glanced over and saw Lexa concentrating extra hard on the board. She sighed and vowed to try again another day. The rest of the day went by like any other, and by the time the last bell rang all Lexa wanted to do was run onto the soccer field and burn off all her pent-up feelings.

  
“Jesus christ Lexa, you’re killing us with these drills!” Octavia bent over, breathing heavily, as Lexa ran the next group through the same drill. It was only an hour into practice, but everyone was already muddy and panting. Their coach had a habit of not showing for all of their weekly practices, and today was no exception. Coach always used the excuse that Lexa was a better coach anyway.

“Yeah Commander, the season just started.” Added Monroe, while Harper leaned on her for support.  
“Is this, is this about the whole me not telling you about Clarke thing? Because, in that case, you should really be punishing Raven since she knew way before I did.” Lexa steeled her gaze on Octavia.  
“No, this is about getting this team into shape. We won the last game, but the whole season is ahead of us. Now quit whining and get your butt in line Blake!” With a roll of her eyes and a groan Octavia headed back to the drills with Monroe and Harper dragging behind her. Octavia knew that Lexa was distracting herself from the issue, but she couldn’t just bring it up with the whole team there. This was personal. So she kept going until every muscle she had burned and ached. When practice was over, the team headed to the locker rooms, leaving Lexa alone on the field. She had participated in most of the drills and practice plays they had done, but her mind wasn’t clear yet. It was only 4:30, so Lexa decided to keep running through exercises on her own until 5:30. Her uncle wouldn’t wonder where she was until 6, so she had time.

Clarke was just coming out of the school building when she heard Lexa’s voice barking orders from the soccer field. Clarke had stayed late in order to meet with a few teachers about catching up on her work. The school year had started nearly a month ago, so she was pretty behind. Dr. Kane had been the most helpful and understanding about it all. Instead of heading straight to her old car, Clarke wandered over to the soccer fields behind the gym to watch the practice. The first thing that caught her eye were Lexa’s long, tan legs. Her green soccer shorts were very short and Clarke couldn’t not stare. Lexa was wiping sweat off her forehead with the edge of her shirt and Clarke gaped at Lexa’s abs. Her complex braid from before was different now, incorporated into a ponytail to keep it out of the way. She was yelling something at some of the girls who looked exhausted and dirty, but were still running through some exercises. Clarke wondered why Lexa was in charge instead of a coach, but then she realized that Lexa was probably just as good as a coach, if not better. Eventually, Clarke gave up and sat on the edge of the bleachers to watch practice. After a few minutes Raven plopped down next to her.

“So, how was your first day of school?” She asked.  
“Not horrible.” Clarke smiled.  
“Well, I guess that is good then. It seems like Lexa doesn’t hate you like you thought she would either.” Raven winked, popping some skittles into her mouth and then offering some to Clarke.  
“She may not hate me, but I don’t think she likes me very much either.” Clarke shrugged and accepted the candy.  
“She doesn’t even know you.”  
“Yeah, but I don’t know her either. She is nothing like I thought she would be.”  
“True, she really changed after elementary school. Now she is a total badass, I mean, look at the way she bosses O around. Can you believe it? I never thought anyone could ever tell that wild child what to do!” Clarke laughed.  
“That’s true, Octavia has always been very...Octavia.”  
“Wow, what a nice way to say stubborn, headstrong, independent, pain in the ass.” Raven laughed too. There was a momentary pause as they both watched Lexa demonstrate a certain pass to Harper, the look of concentration on her face intimidating. “In all seriousness though, it’s good to have you here Clarke. I know we’ve drifted in and out of touch, but O and I have missed you.”  
“I’ve missed you guys too.  
“And about Lexa, she’ll warm up to you, she’ll just take some time.” Clarke nodded, eyes drifting back to Lexa on the field. “She may seem confident and cool, but deep inside her is a soft heart of gold. Just, you know, it’s surrounded by landmines and barbed wire. It just takes time to get her to open up to anyone.”  
“Any suggestions on how to help that process along?” Clarke didn’t mention that she had already tried to talk to Lexa and that hadn’t worked. Raven rubbed her chin in thought, a habit she started to be funny, but now it just sort of happened.  
“Well, Lexa can be a little closed-off emotionally, but she does love soccer and her team. You should come to the game on Saturday! Yeah, that’s a great idea! Come and support the team, I’ll be there yelling at O already and she would appreciate it if you were there too, I’m sure.”  
“Okay, sounds good.” Clarke nodded.

They sat in silence for a little while longer, just watching the practice. All the girls were getting progressively slower and muddier until Lexa finally called them all up. When she dismissed them to the locker room Clarke was surprised to see Lexa remain on the field. She had mud from the soccer ball all over her legs and arms, carefully using her shirt to wipe her face clean as she toed the ball around for a minute. Clarke was watching intently when Raven interrupted.  
“She usually stays a little late if she has had a hard day or something. I’m gonna go catch up with O, she was my ride this morning so let’s hope she’ll give me a ride now. I’ll see you tomorrow Clarke!” Raven squeezed her and took off towards the locker rooms to harass Octavia.  
“Bye!” Clarke called after her, returning her attention to the girl on the soccer field. The sunlight was beginning to fade and it was getting harder and harder to see the expression on Lexa’s face, but her movements looked so fluid that Clarke assumed it was something peaceful. After another twenty minutes of getting lost in Lexa’s practice, Finn came up behind the bleachers. Clarke gave him a reserved smile and he took that as a cue to join her.

“Not the little weirdo you remember, huh?” Finn gestured to Lexa, who was currently kicking as many balls in a line as she could.  
“Yeah, I was just talking to Raven about how much everyone has changed since elementary.” Clarke paused, “Some of us have certainly changed more than others.”  
“You haven’t changed a bit since I last saw you, still just as blonde and beautiful as ever.” Finn paused awkwardly and Clarke wasn’t sure how to respond as he rubbed the back of his neck. “But you know, Lexa sure has changed a lot. I mean, people at this school worship her almost. It’s weird cause she generally seems emotionless about most of it. When we were in elementary she was always crying about something, but now she is much more….reserved? Something like that. Maybe it’s just so people think she is mysterious or something. I never have understood girls that well.” Finn shrugged.  
“Why are you here so late?” Clarke asked after a beat.  
“I could ask you the same question.” Finn smirked, “But I’m just waiting on my little sister. She has tutoring after school today.”  
“Oh, I forgot about your little sister, how old is she now?”  
“Charlotte is a freshmen this year, but I think she is already more popular than I am.” Finn laughed and Clarke remembered that she used to really like Finn’s nonchalant attitude, even if he had a bit of a temper as a kid. “So, like, we should hang out and catch up sometime or something.” Suddenly Finn was sounding a little less cocky and it was almost cute. “Would you be up for something this Saturday?”  
“Oh, sorry, I already agreed to go to the game with Raven on Saturday. Maybe we can hang out once I get a little more settled into the new school and stuff?” Clarke offered as a consolation. Finn seemed unphased, if not a little encouraged.  
“Yeah, sure, that would be fine. I understand you gotta acclimate and what not.” Clarke nodded, a little relieved that he accepted her reasoning and wasn’t pushing her. She knew he was looking for more than to just catch up, and she wasn’t really sure if she was even looking or what she was looking for. “Well, I should head out. Don’t stare too hard at Lexa, she’ll feel your eyes burning holes in her jersey. And trust me, you don’t want to be on the commander’s bad side.” Finn winked, before heading off.  
Lexa’s concentration was totally shot the moment she noticed Clarke in the stands. She had no idea how long Clarke had been watching practice, or if she had just been watching Lexa practice alone. Either way, she was getting nowhere fast. She glanced down at her watch and noticed that it was 5:15. She was about to head in early to avoid the possibility of embarrassing herself in front of the blonde when she noticed Finn approaching Clarke. Lexa had never seen eye to eye with Finn on anything. Not once since elementary school had they gotten along. In middle school they had gotten into many arguments, a few had even turned physical. When Lexa had risen in the soccer ranks, Finn had mostly backed off and quieted down. But now, seeing him talking to Clarke, Lexa was not happy.

What could his business with the blonde be anyway? Was he trying to get the old bullying team back together or something? Was he telling Clarke bad things about Lexa? That made her pause, she probably wasn’t even a blip on their radar anyway. Even so, she couldn’t help but watch them talk and wonder. For a few minutes it seemed like polite conversation and Lexa tried to run through a few more drills, but when she looked up again Clarke had physically drawn back a little as Finn headed back into the school. Before she could stop herself, her feet were already taking her towards the bleachers.  
“What are you doing here?” Lexa winced at the gruffness of her voice, half of it was just the dryness in her throat. Clarke looked up, startled as she hadn’t seen Lexa coming over to lean on the fence that separated them. She had been looking down at her phone after Finn left.  
“Oh, I just came to watch the practice. Octavia had mentioned it earlier.”  
“You know, practice ended a while ago right? Generally when everyone leaves, that means we’re done.” Lexa allowed herself a small smirk.  
“You were still practicing though.”  
“I’m the team captain, I usually stay late and practice.” This wasn’t a total lie, because Lexa did often stay late, it was just the reasoning today that she kept to herself.  
“When did you start playing soccer?” Clarke asked.  
“Uhm, I started in middle school, but I really got into it in high school. Octavia didn’t play until the end of middle school.” Clarke nodded.  
“I remember Raven mentioning that to me once a while ago. She was complaining that all her friends were going to be jocks and she would be stuck with Monty and Jasper in a nerd herd.” Clarke smiled.  
“Yeah, that sounds like Ray to me. We told her she could play, but she has always preferred to blow things up to deal with her emotions instead.”  
“I like art, that’s what I’ve always liked to do to get through things.”  
“You used to draw a lot in class.”  
“Yeah, some things never change.” They both fell silent, not ready to talk about the past.  
“Well, as much as I don’t want to, I guess I should head home. I’m sure there is a ton of work already that I need to make up.” Lexa nodded as Clarke stood to go. She wanted to ask why Clarke had transferred a few weeks into the school year, but she didn’t. “You’re really good out there on the field.” Clarke paused, “Oh yeah, and Raven invited me to the game on Saturday, so I guess I’ll really get to see you in action then.” She smiled genuinely before heading for the parking lot. Leaving Lexa still leaning on the fence wondering why her cheeks were suddenly warmer.


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the week went by quickly. Each day Clarke and Lexa spoke a little bit more about random things. Each day Clarke got a little brighter, and by Friday they were all laughing along together at the lunch table at something Monty had done in their Bio lab that morning. Clarke had showed up again to watch the soccer practice and Lexa had nearly gotten hit by the ball more than once because she was distracted. The only time they talked one on one was in their shared English class, but conversation was still light. Clarke could tell Lexa had a lot of questions that she wasn’t asking, and she quickly realized that Lexa was a little emotionally distant, even around her regular friends. Clarke had no idea what had gone on in Lexa’s life for the past 8 years, but still wondered if that was a result of her rough childhood. Friday night’s practice ran later than usual and it was dark by the time Lexa was off the field. Clarke had stayed and watched the entire time, but was gone when Lexa came out of the locker room.

“You’re home awful late tonight Lex.” Anya said from the living room when Lexa closed the kitchen door behind her.  
“Yeah, practice ran late. Is Gus home?” Lexa dropped her backpack on the kitchen table and opened up the fridge.  
“Nope, he said he would be pretty late tonight, something about a big meeting or something.” Lexa settled on some cut up fruit and cheese cubes as her snack and headed into the living room. Anya was sprawled out on their big couch, surrounded by books and papers, laptop perched on her stomach. The tv was on, but muted.  
“You know, for a smartass, you sure don’t pay much attention.” Lexa remarked, tossing some of the books onto the carpet and sitting at Anya’s feet. She silently offered her some of the fruit, but Anya shook her head.  
“Well, I’m kind of busy here. College is a lot of work, and grad school is actually harder. They always tell you that grad school is better, but I swear it is just bigger books and longer papers.”  
“At least now you get to do some casework though, right?”  
“Some, but I just really want to finish this, pass the bar, and actually get to work already. I’m not getting any younger here!”  
“Too true, you’ll be an old hag any day now.” Anya narrowed her eyes.  
“Gee thanks baby sister, I appreciate it.”  
“No prob, I’m always here for support.”  
“You should really quit soccer and be a cheerleader instead.”  
“Totally.” Lexa deadpanned. “Are you going to come to the game tomorrow? I think Bellamy is going to be there.” Lexa wiggled her eyebrows, knowing Anya had a soft spot for the older Blake sibling and had missed him since he went off to university a few hours away.  
“We’ll see, it’s in the evening this time, right? Cause I sure hate those morning games.”  
“Yeah, you’re not alone in that. I think half the team is just dead for the morning games. It starts at 4 tomorrow.” Anya nodded.  
“I’ll try to get off work an hour early so I can come.”  
“Cool.” Lexa moved to get up.  
“I got an interesting text from Raven a few days ago.” Anya was still looking at her computer screen, but Lexa knew she wasn’t paying attention to it.  
“Uh-huh, and remind me again why you and Raven text?”  
“Just to keep track of you since you’re so apt to never share anything. I mean, I am your loving sister here.”  
“Right, sure.” Lexa rolled her eyes, but sat back down. “So, do you wanna tell me about this ominous text message or not?”  
“Raven said that the girl who used to bully you in elementary school transferred into your class.”  
“She isn’t in my class, she is in a few of my classes. High school students don’t just stay with one class.” Anya closed her laptop and looked pointedly at Lexa.  
“I think that is not the important issue at hand here.” Lexa shrugged and Anya rolled her eyes and sighed. “Look, I know you went through a lot when you were little and I have heard you talk about this girl before, so I just want to check in and make sure you’re doing alright, okay?” Lexa sobered a little, she knew Anya was only trying to be the caring big sister she had always wanted.   
“I’m fine, but I appreciate your concern.” Anya nodded as Lexa got up. She was very used to how closed off her little sister was and didn’t really expect any details anyway. At the door Lexa turned. “Her name is Clarke.” Anya nodded, trying not to betray her surprise at the volunteering of information. Lexa headed upstairs to get ready for bed and for the game the next day.

Lexa got to the field nearly two hours early, and was quickly followed by her whole team. Lexa was always early, a mix of nerves and excitement propelling her out the door with time to spare. Her team knew and it was a long standing contest to see if they could ever beat her anywhere. Octavia lived near Harper and Monroe, so they generally carpooled and got there second. Tris, and some of the other newer recruits were just barely on time, unaware of the unspoken rule of punctuality. They were all doing warm up exercises on half of the field, with TonDC High using the other half when Clarke and Raven arrived. 

“Wow, there are so many people here.” Clarke remarked as she followed Raven to the bleachers behind where Polis High’s team sat.  
“Yeah, soccer is actually really popular here and our team really kicks ass.”   
“I bet.” Clarke said absently, searching the field for Lexa. When her eyes landed on her Clarke couldn’t help but smile. Lexa had french braided her long hair, with one main braid and smaller ones on each side that joined together at the base of her skull. Octavia had similarly intricate braids as well. In fact, as Clarke looked around she noticed most of the girls had some form of braiding done in their hair.  
“What’s with the braids?” Raven shrugged.  
“Not sure, Lexa has always done that. Don’t you remember how she braided her hair when we were in elementary? Well, I think it just became a team thing. For the championships they also wear warpaint.”  
“Huh.” Clarke did remember Lexa braiding her hair back in elementary school, but now her braids were much more intricate and perfect. Before the game started, they all returned from the field to their seats and Raven went down to talk to Octavia. Clarke followed, but paid little attention to their conversation. She was busy watching Lexa, who was talking with their coach about something indiscernible. Clarke still couldn’t believe that tiny, nerdy Alexandria had grown up into this tall, athletic leader. Plus, she was hella hot. That was not something lost on Clarke in any way. The way that the muscles in her arms and legs flexed under her tan skin, the shine of her forest green eyes, the plumpness of her soft, pink lips. Clarke was still staring at her when Raven tugged her back to their seats.

“You know, you really shouldn’t stare so much. Lexa might notice.” Raven elbowed Clarke teasingly.  
“I just still can’t believe that this is what she grew up into. I mean, this makes me feel like puberty hit me like a bus, but hit her like, I don’t know, a magical girl transformation or something.” Raven laughed.  
“Yeah, you’re not wrong there. I mean, she was kind of awkward when she hit her growth spurt, but man, that really didn’t last. She was a little willowy, but then soccer solved that problem. I think that might have been O’s motivation at first for joining the team. She just wanted to be as toned as Lexa was.” Clarke rolled her eyes and smiled.  
“I would believe it, but it seems like she really loves it now.”  
“I think she does.” Clarke whipped her head around and stared into the smiling face of Bellamy Blake.  
“And hello to you too Bell, does this mean Anya is coming too?” Raven said. Bellamy just shrugged.  
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Princess.” Clarke was still staring at his goofy grin. Bellamy had been like an older brother to her when she was younger, and since then he had bailed her out of a few situations that she was now desperately hoping he had kept to himself. Their contact in the past few years had been spotty, just like with Raven and Octavia.  
“It’s, um, just been a while Bell.”  
“Yeah, last time I saw you it was under much less pleasant circumstances, but I’m glad to see you here. O was pretty excited that you were transferring back.” Clarke nodded.  
“I don’t think everyone was excited about that though.” She looked out at the field where Lexa and the team were about to start playing. Bellamy and Raven made eye contact and Raven shrugged a little.  
“Don’t worry Princess, I’m sure the Commander will warm up to you. Just don’t try and steal her glasses anymore.” Bellamy winked and Clarke shook her head.  
“I knew O told you everything.”  
“Thank god she doesn’t do that anymore, there are things I don’t need to hear from my baby sister.” He mock shuddered and Raven laughed. A whistle was blown and they turned their attention to the field.  
The first half of the game went by quickly with Octavia scoring once and Monroe scoring as well. At the very end TonDC managed to get a ball in past Harper.   
“See, Lexa almost never scores in the first half, instead she just sets up shots for her teammates. Did you see when she..” Raven was cut off by Anya plopping down next to her.  
“Hey Ray, what did I miss?” Raven turned to the very overdressed Anya.  
“Did your fancy pants meeting run a little late there?”  
“Ugh, shut up and fill me in Raven.” Anya rolled her eyes and slid her black heels off.  
“Well, the score is 2-1 in our favor, but more importantly Bellamy is here. He just went to get some snacks with the boys.” Raven raised her eyebrows suggestively. Clarke just watched as Anya’s cheeks turned slightly pink.   
“I don’t care where Bellamy is, I’m here for my little sister. Also, are you going to introduce me to your friend here?”  
“Oh, right, Anya, this is Clarke, Clarke, this is Anya, Lexa’s older sister who has a crush on Bellamy.”  
“I do not have a crush on him!” Anya protested.  
“On who?” Bellamy said from behind them, climbing down the bleachers with Monty and Jasper trailing behind him. They had both arrived late and sat somewhere else during the first half.  
“No one at all.” Anya replied stiffly as Raven stifled a laugh. “Wait, you said Clarke right? As in, the girl who used to bully my baby sister?” Clarke’s smile faltered and she looked down at her shoes. Bellamy quickly intervened.  
“Don’t worry, I think Lexa can definitely handle herself.”  
“Yeah, I mean, that was 8 years ago, I think we have all grown up and changed a lot since then.” Raven added.  
“Fine, but you better not do anything to my baby sister, she is a delicate flower.” Clarke was nodding when Raven interrupted them.  
“Sure, a delicate flower who just broke a girl’s nose out there.” Raven pointed to the field where, sure enough, one of the TonDC players was being led away, blood dribbling down her chin.   
“Oh shit, Lexa did that?” Monty remarked from behind them.  
“I saw it, but I don’t think it was her fault. That girl was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.” They continued talking and watching the game go on. Clarke was glad to have Anya’s attention off of her, she would be lying if she said Anya wasn’t intimidating. She had the same distinct cheekbones as Lexa, but that was where the resemblance ended. Clarke vaguely remembered that Anya was Lexa’s half sister and wondered which parent they shared. TonDC scored again and the whole group got up to yell, Raven especially. Now they were tied and Raven excitedly turned to Clarke.   
“Now is when you should be watching Lexa.” Clarke wasn’t about to say that wasn’t what she had been doing the entire game. Lexa suddenly looked more serious and in the last five minutes of the game, she alone scored 3 goals and set up a good shot for Octavia.   
“Wow, she is so fast!” Jasper commented, “Like, how can she even be coordinated at that speed?”   
“You’re no judge of that, you can trip standing still.” Raven said, Clarke and Monty both laughed. They all stood up and cheered when the game ended. As the bleachers were clearing, their group headed down to the fence where their team was.   
“Nice job kids, I think you all earned some ice cream tonight!”   
“Gee thanks Ray, your treat?” Octavia winked and took a drink from her water bottle.  
“Hey, I don’t get paid to be your best damn cheerleader.” Raven grinned. 

Clarke hung back a little and watched everyone talk. Bellamy and Raven were both hassling Octavia, and she threatened to hug them both while she was covered in mud and sweat. Anya had gone over to talk to Lexa, while the boys talked with Harper and Monroe. A few of the other girls were talking to the coach a short distance off. Clarke was just about to retreat back to her car when she heard Lexa’s voice.  
“Thanks for coming Clarke, what did you think of the game?” Anya and Bellamy were talking a short distance off, so Clarke walked over to the fence by Lexa, not noticing when they turned their heads to watch.  
“Well, it was much more interesting than practices are to watch.” Clarke smiled. “Plus, you were amazing out there.” Lexa’s cheeks would have flushed if they hadn’t already been pink from exertion.  
“Thanks, I really love playing.”  
“Anyone who watches you can tell that. Even that poor girl you hit in the face.”  
“Hey, that wasn’t my fault, I didn’t know she was going to put her face there.” Lexa defended and Clarke smiled. From a short distance Anya and Bellamy watched with raised eyebrows.  
“Did you see that?” Anya asked.  
“Which part, the one where Lexa blushed or that genuine smile on Clarke’s face?”  
“But I thought Lexa hated Clarke?” Anya asked and Bellamy shrugged.  
“I think that was a very long time ago, no reason they can’t be friends now.”  
“I guess, but I feel like it may come up eventually. Lexa may not be good at dealing with her feelings, but eventually she is going to have to.”  
“Probably, but let's just watch them try and be friends for now. Besides, Clarke has had a really rough few years, she deserves some normal high school stuff.”  
“Friends, right. Well, Lexa has been through shit too, so Clarke better not hurt her.” Anya had not seen Lexa blush in a very long time, but maybe she was just imagining it? Anya wanted to ask Bellamy what had happened to Clarke, since he seemed to know a lot more than her friends did, but she figured that was a conversation better left for another time. After all the girls had showered, Anya and Bell had headed out and the rest of the crew left for their favorite soda shop downtown to celebrate. It was where they went every time they won a game and this time Clarke got to come as well. 

“So, next Saturday is just a scrimmage match, but I still expect everyone to be on their best game for it.”   
“Yes Commander!” Responded part of the team, including Raven, before dissolving into giggles as Lexa rolled her eyes. She used to be embarrassed by the nickname, but now she was used to it. Clarke smiled at her from across the table, it had been a while since she had gone out somewhere with a bunch of friends. She hadn’t planned on coming along, but Raven had dragged her along and she wasn’t regretting it. Lexa had rebraided her hair after the game in a simple french braid and Clarke really wanted to ask her about the braids, but instead settled for admiring the soft curve of her neck that was usually hidden under her hair. Lexa was in the middle of a conversation with Tris, explaining one of the plays to her. The way Lexa’s bright green eyes lit up as she spoke animatedly about the game was adorable.  
“You’re staring again Clarke.” Raven whispered into Clarke’s ear and she jumped slightly.  
“I am not staring at Lexa.” She whispered back harshly. Raven just shrugged.  
“Wouldn’t blame you if you were, Lexa’s a serious babe.” Raven winked, then turned back to shoo Octavia away from her fries. After another hour, the soda shop was close to closing up, so the team began to disperse. Raven had driven Clarke there, but she usually drove Octavia home after games since they lived close together. Harper and Monroe had driven together and were taking Tris and Fox with them. The other girls had left a little earlier, Maya taking all of them in her mom’s old van.  
“Hey Lexa, can you give Clarke a ride? My pickup isn’t big enough for 3 people.” Raven called, flashing a devilish grin at Clarke, whose eyes had shot wide open. Octavia just rolled her eyes, she knew what Raven was up to, but refused to get involved. Yet.  
“That’s alright, I wouldn’t want to impose or anything.” Clarke mumbled.  
“It’s fine,” Lexa clenched her jaw slightly, “where do you live?”  
“Uhm, 102 Dropship Lane. It’s not too far from here.” Lexa nodded and headed for her little car.  
“Come on, I know where that is. You live pretty close to Jasper and Monty actually.” Clarke shot one last pleading look at Raven and Octavia, but O just shook her head and Raven gave her a thumbs up. Clarke made a mental note to either thank them or get revenge on them, depending on how this ride went. They walked out to the parking lot and over to Lexa’s little toyota. It wasn’t a fancy car by any means, but Lexa loved it to pieces. She had saved up from working at a summer camp and doing tutoring for two years in order to buy it, and it was all her’s.

“Nice car.” Clarke said, and Lexa was prepared to shoot something back in the car’s defense, but was surprised to note that there wasn’t a trace of sarcasm in Clarke’s voice.  
“Thanks, it’s probably the most valuable thing I own.” Lexa unlocked it and they both got in. Lexa immediately reached for the radio and turned on some music that Clarke didn’t recognize. She watched as Lexa gripped the wheel a little too tightly for comfort, her long fingers wrapping around it. Lexa stared straight ahead as she started the car and headed down the relatively empty roads of Polis. After a few minutes of driving in silence Clarke couldn’t take it anymore. The tension was stifling.  
“So, do you guys always go to that place after games?” She asked quietly, receiving a sideways glance from Lexa that made Clarke nervous.  
“Only when we win. When we lose we get pizza.”  
“Oh, okay.” Clarke nearly whispered, noting the brusque tone that Lexa used.

What she didn’t notice was how downright nervous Lexa was. She had no idea that Lexa’s mind was working overtime to come up with anything to talk to Clarke about that wasn’t about their past interactions and history. Inside, Lexa was panicking, because that was all she could do trapped in an enclosed space with Clarke’s soft scent surrounding her. Lexa would have been lying if she said there wasn’t something that pulled her towards Clarke, whether it was hate or lust, Lexa wasn’t sure yet, but it was something strong. Clarke felt something too, something in the way Lexa glanced at her.Clarke occupied herself with fiddling with the unwound hem at the bottom of her blouse, and noticed the green hoodie that lexa had lent her on their first day in the floor by her feet. The hoodie had smelled so familiar when she had first put it on that Clarke had almost wanted to cry, or rip it off, but hadn’t been able to bring herself to do either. Luckily for both of them, it was a short ride to Clarke’s place. Lexa had never been down Dropship Lane, but she knew it wasn’t really a nice part of town. As she pulled up in front of Clarke’s address she looked warily up at the converted house.

“There are no lights on, is your family already asleep?” Lexa asked, looking up at the part of the house Clarke had motioned too when directing Lexa.  
“Oh, no, I live alone here.” Clarke said quietly, grabbing her bag and opening the door.  
“Really?” Lexa asked, curious now. Back in elementary Clarke had been very close with her parents, in fact, Lexa had always been jealous of their little normal family. Sure, time had passed, but she had assumed Clarke was still close with some of her family.  
“Yeah, my mom and I don’t really get along and my dad died 8 years ago.” Clarke replied, pausing with the door open.  
“Oh, I’m sorry, I had heard a rumor that your dad had passed and that’s why you transferred, but I didn’t know for sure.” Clarke just shook her head.  
“It’s okay, thanks for the ride Lexa, I appreciate it.”  
“Sure thing, thanks for coming to the game, I’ll see you Monday at school.”  
“Bye.” Clarke waved a little as Lexa hesitated momentarily before driving off. 

Lexa had desperately wanted to ask Clarke more. What if more of the rumors were true? What had Raven and Octavia not told Lexa? Meanwhile Clarke made her way up the stairs to her small apartment, wondering what had been going through Lexa’s mind. As Lexa walked through her front door, she nearly ran into Gus.  
“Hey kiddo, I was wondering if you were ever coming home tonight. Congrats on the win, I never doubted you and your team.”  
“Yeah, thanks Gus, sorry, my mind was elsewhere.” Lexa mumbled, skipping her usual snack and heading upstairs. Anya was watching from the doorway to the living room and Gus shot her a curious look.  
“Don’t look at me, I don’t know what goes on in that weirdo’s head.” She said, returning to her spot on the couch. Gus wasn’t buying it, but he would wait until one of them talked to him about it. He was used to being the last to know things, but he was confident that Anya would let him know if something serious was up. Upstairs, Lexa flopped onto her bed. She couldn’t get Clarke’s face out of her mind. The look she had in her eyes was almost watery when she mentioned her family. Her phone vibrating startled her out of her thoughts.

[Unknown Number 10:42pm]: “Hey Lexa, it’s Clarke. I just wanted to say thanks again for the ride. Hope it’s okay to text you, Raven gave me your number the other day.”  
For a few minutes Lexa just stared at the message before texting her back.  
[Lexa 10:46pm]: “It’s fine, no problem.”  
Immediately after, Lexa sent a message to Raven.  
[Lexa 10:48pm]: “I know what you idiots are trying to do and it isn’t going to work. If I want to be friends with Clarke I will. Don’t try and force us to be friends.”  
[Raven 10:49pm]: “Okay, we’ll lay off Commander, we just think you guys need to actually talk it out. I know Clarke wants to. Don’t you?”  
[Lexa 10:53pm]: “I don’t know yet.”  
Lexa laid back on her bed to think for a few minutes. She still didn’t feel ready to talk to Clarke, but she also couldn’t deny that she had a lot of questions that she wanted answers to.


	6. Chapter 6

By Monday morning Lexa was dying of curiosity about Clarke. She practically ignored the conversations her friends were having around her in homeroom, watching the door out of the corner of her eye for Clarke, who just made it in before the last bell. She was wearing grey leggings and a pink pullover that matched the pink in her cheeks. She must have run into the school, Lexa though, watching Clarke sink into her desk, chest heaving slightly under the pullover.

“Hey Clarke, you okay?” Raven slid into the desk next to Clarke.  
“Yeah, my car wouldn’t start this morning, so I had to use my old bike. I think I need to get into better shape.”  
“Damn, that sucks, at least this town is pretty easy to bike around, right?”  
“True, it’s much smaller than TonDC. That car wasn’t going to live a long life anyway.”  
“Maybe I can take a look at it? I’m pretty good with machinery, and not just making it go boom.”  
“Sure, I would appreciate, but I can’t really afford to pay you. My part time job barely pays my rent and food.”  
“That’s okay, I’m happy to help. Maybe I’ll try and drag O over and we can order a pizza.”  
“Sounds good to me, are you guys free on Wednesday? That’s the only day I don’t have work this week after classes.”  
“Yeah, that should work for us. Gosh, you sure got a job here fast.”  
“Well, rent doesn’t pay itself.” Clarke replied. 

Lexa was watching the exchange, but could only hear snippets over other conversations going on around her. She caught that Clarke’s car was not doing well, and that Clarke had a job, but otherwise it was drowned out by Octavia’s conversation with with Harper and Monroe next to her. Lexa had thought about getting a job a few times, but most of her spare time was consumed with soccer. For the rest of the day Lexa was relatively quiet, mostly just observing Clarke. She noticed in bio lab that there were scars, tiny and white, littering Clarke’s knuckles when she handed her a sample slide they were sharing. It even looked like there were a few scars along her fingers that were the result of broken bones that needed surgery. Lexa wanted to reach out and run her fingers alone the scars, but instead she avoided eye contact and said a quick thanks for the slide. At lunch Lexa noticed that Clarke’s lunch was mostly rice and vegetables, things that were always cheap. In gym class she noticed that there were holes in the heels of Clarke’s tennis shoes, something that reminded Lexa a little too much of her childhood. When the day was finally over, Lexa had a pretty good idea of why Clarke needed a job so quickly.

“Hey Lex, you’v been awful quiet today.” Octavia said on their walk to the practice fields. “And you’ve been staring at Clarke a lot.” She added, getting Lexa’s attention.  
“Shut up, I’ve just been thinking.”  
“Wow, no denial? I’m surprise. What’cha been thinking about?” Lexa stopped and turned to Octavia.  
“O, what happened to Clarke? What are you guys not telling me?”   
“Lex, you know Ray and I don’t even know everything that happened with her. I think Bellamy might actually know more than either of us anyway. If you really want to know, go talk to her. She wants to talk to you about everything.”   
“Ugh, I don’t want to do that, can’t we just move on instead? A lot has changed.”  
“It has, but you only know what has changed with you, not her.”  
“Nevermind, okay? Let’s just go practice.”  
“Fine, but eventually you will have to talk to her.”  
“Shut up, O.”

The rest of the week went by without much incident, and on Wednesday Octavia drove Raven and Clarke back to Clarke’s place to work on her car and get pizza.  
“Now, I hope neither of you expects me to lay a hand on that car, right?” Octavia said, sitting down on Clarke’s steps in front of the small silver car.  
“Don’t worry O, if I remember correctly, we should be paying you not to touch the car.” Clarke smiled.  
“Yeah, that hasn’t changed one bit.” Raven confirmed, pulling a box of tools out of Octavia’s trunk.  
“How about I order the pizza while you two get all gross and greasy?”  
“Sounds great to me!” Raven replied, handing the tool box to Clarke, who had changed into an old paint splattered tank top and shorts. After Octavia ordered a pizza, they began really working on the car.  
“I think I can fix this, at least for a while, but this car has definitely seen better days. Where did you even get it?”  
“From Bellamy.” Clarke responded, handing Raven a water bottle. Raven and Octavia just stared at her for a second.  
“Wait, you mean my brother Bellamy?” Octavia asked incredulously.  
“I mean, he is the only Bellamy I know.” Clarke replied.  
“Why the hell didn’t my brother get me a car??” Octavia asked and Raven raised her eyebrows.  
“Yeah, I’m a little curious too. I knew you kept in touch with him, but what exactly went on between you two?” Raven asked, standing up from under the hood of the car.  
“Bellamy has gotten me out of a few pinches, he has been like a brother to me, and you guys know that my family kind of fell apart.”  
“I guess, but why not turn to us? Even though we were far apart, we’re still your friends.” Raven asked.  
“I know, it wasn’t exactly like I chose him, he just sorta showed up.”  
“Alright girl, you’re going to have to be a little less cryptic here. What on earth was going on with you?” Raven got to the point and Octavia nodded. Clarke took a deep breath and sighed.  
“Well, it’s a long story.”

The pizza was gone and the car repairs temporarily forgotten when Clarke finished her story.  
“Good lord Clarke.” Octavia said from her spot on the stairs next to Raven.  
“I agree, I’m kind of scared of you now.”  
“Don’t worry, I’m still me, and I’m forever grateful to Bellamy for being there and getting me out of that place.”  
“I bet.” Raven said, still stunned. “Well, should we actually finish work on the car before the sun completely goes down?” Raven stood up, trying to lighten the mood a little bit.  
“Sure, that sounds good to me.” Clarke replied, getting up to help. Octavia stood up and walked around, still wondering what else her brother hadn’t told her. The next day it was Raven and Octavia’s turns to be uncharacteristically quiet and it unnerved Lexa to no end. At lunch, she had reached her limit.  
“Okay guys, what the hell is going on with you two today?” She asked, cornering them at their lockers after an eerily quiet lunch.  
“Nothing Lexa.” Raven said curtly.  
“Yeah, don’t worry about it.”  
“Uh-huh, I’m not buying it.” Lexa said, leaning against her own locker and crossing her arms.  
“Look Lexa,” Raven turned to her, “it’s nothing you need to worry about. It has no effect on you, so just let it go. Besides, you’ve been a space case all week.” Lexa sighed and deflated some.  
“Yeah, you’re right, sorry guys.”  
“It’s okay Lex, we’ll talk about everything later, alright?” Octavia said.  
“Okay.” They headed off to their classes, Lexa still wondering what was up and Raven and Octavia feeling guilty for not telling her everything. The rest of the week was a little off for everyone, and even Jasper and Monty were giving each other looks over the lunch table on Friday.

“So, you guys looking forward to the scrimmage match tomorrow?” Jasper ventured.  
“Practice has been especially brutal this week, so I think so.” Replied Harper, elbowing Monroe who was falling asleep next to her.  
“It has been.” Monroe said sleepily, looking towards the other side of the table where Lexa was talking some with Raven. Clarke and Octavia had left to go grab stuff from their lockers a few minutes earlier. “I think something is bugging the Commander, maybe she is arguing with her besties.”  
“They have been awfully quiet this week too.” Harper agreed.  
“I feel like it has something to do with the new girl.” Monroe added.  
“Clarke?” Monty asked.  
“Yeah, doesn’t she have a history with Lexa or something?”  
“Sort of,” Jasper said, “we all knew her back in elementary, but that was 7 or 8 years ago now.  
“It sure seems more recent than that.” Monroe said, focusing her attention back on her lunch.  
“You’re not wrong.” Monty replied thoughtfully, watching the way Lexa’s eyes always seemed to drift to Clarke as she returned with Octavia.  
On Saturday, the scrimmage match was an easy win, and Lexa was a little disappointed to not see Clarke on the bleachers. Not a lot of people came for the scrimmage matches usually, but she had still hoped to see that blonde head up there next to Raven. Another week went by without incident, and things were slowly returning to normal. It became routine and Lexa was slowly warming up to Clarke. Their conversations grew longer, but rarely any deeper than making fun of a teacher or discussing an assignment. Occasionally they talked about current events, but always skirted around more serious subjects. Raven and Octavia relaxed as well, and soon it was halfway through October.   
One Thursday, at the end of the school day, Clarke was grabbing her stuff from her locker and getting ready to head to work. Luckily, her car was still running thanks to Raven, and she had just said bye to Lexa and Octavia as they headed to the practice fields. 

“Hey Clarke?” She turned around to see Jasper and Monty standing behind her looking nervous.  
“Yeah?”  
“Uhm, there are some girls in front of the school that said they were looking for you.” Monty said.  
“Some hella scary looking girls, to be more exact.” Jasper added. Clarke’s stomach sank. She had hoped to avoid this confrontation for as long as possible, but it was probably inevitable.  
“Awesome, thanks guys.” She stuffed her things back in her locker and headed for the front of the school.  
“Should we get somebody or something?” Jasper asked cautiously.  
“No, it’s fine, I’ll deal with it. But thanks guys.” Clarke replied. Jasper and Monty exchanged a look and headed to the soccer field to get their friends just in case. Clarke exited the school building and found a group of 6 girls waiting for her by her car.


	7. Chapter 7

“Yo Griffin, we were wondering where you had scampered off to.” Shouted one of the taller girls who had long dark hair in a braid down her back and a scar across her cheekbone.  
“Yeah, what the hell are you doing at this pussy school?” Said another girl with short, curly dirty blonde hair.  
“Look, you guys have got to go.” Clarke said, walking over to the group.   
“Not without you, bitch. You can’t just ditch us without notice and pop up here pretending to be a good person. Do your new little friends even know why you transferred here?”  
“Ontari, I didn’t just ditch you. I don’t want that life. You guys are better than this, so just leave now and this won’t get messy.”  
“Pfft, seriously?” Ontari crossed her arms and turned to the girl next to her wearing a sneer. “Are you hearing this princess? Trying to intimidate us? It almost sounds like she is looking down on us.”  
“Seriously, I can’t believe we ever thought she was one of us.” Another girl with dyed blue hair replied.  
“I agree.” Said Ontari turning back to Clarke and cracking her knuckles. “So, you want out, right?”  
“Yes, I want out.” Clarke said stiffly, knowing what came next.  
“Well then girls, it looks like we gotta process her out of the krew.” Ontari said to the group of grinning punks around her. “You ready Clarke? It’s not cheap to leave, it’s going to cost you heavily.”  
“Fine, just get it over with. Do whatever you have to, just make sure to leave me and my friends the fuck alone after this. Deal?” Clarke asked without a shake in her voice.  
“Deal.” Ontari replied with a cruel grin.Clarke barely managed to get her arms up before Ontari’s fist was coming towards her face. “Cara, grab her and hold her still!” Ontari yelled to one of the girls. Clarke didn’t fight back, just tried to protect her face from their blows. As long as they didn’t use any weapons, she would be fine. At least that is what Clarke kept telling herself as the gravel of the parking lot dug into her side.

“What the hell is going on here?!” Lexa yelled, running towards the commotion in the parking lot, catching sight of Clarke’s blonde hair on the ground. Jasper and Monty had run onto the field and Lexa had almost thrown a soccer ball at them until she saw how scared they looked. When they had said there was a group of girls who looked less than friendly in the lot looking for Clarke, Raven and Octavia had taken off, and Lexa was quick to follow them, beating them to the lot. The rest of the team was confused, but figured they might as well follow too.  
Clarke heard Lexa’s voice over the noise around her and was suddenly very hopeful that Lexa could hold her own in a fight.

“None of your business jock, so why don’t you and your friends run on back to your field and kick around some more balls, okay? This doesn’t concern you.” Ontari said, standing in front of the group while they kept Clarke held down.  
“It’s okay Lexa, if you get involved they’ll just hurt you too.” Clarke managed, tasting blood and salt in her mouth.  
“Yeah, listen to the princess, she knows the consequences of her actions.” Nia said. By this time Raven and Octavia had also arrived at the scene.  
“Clarke! Are you okay?” Octavia yelled, heading straight for her. She was quickly blocked and shoved backwards.  
“You three need to turn around and pretend you didn’t see anything, or it’s only going to be worse for Clarke and you.” Ontari threatened as Raven yanked Octavia back to her feet. Lexa was shaking, she wanted nothing more than to rip them all apart, but there were six of them and right now just her and Octavia and Raven. Jasper and Monty had run back to the school to try and find a faculty member to get help if this did turn bad. “Fine, if you three won’t leave, then you’re going to get it.” Ontari silently signaled to one of her girls who proceeded to bull a metal bat out from behind the car. Suddenly all hell broke loose. Lexa saw Raven lunge from her right and Octavia surged forward as well, but they were both met with blows from the other girls, with Clarke still held firmly by three girls behind them. Ontari reached for Lexa, but Lexa was too fast and dodged, before grabbing Ontari and getting a good blow into the girl’s stomach. Soccer had toned Lexa’s reflexes as well as her muscles, but not nearly enough to take on two of them at a time.   
“Ahhhh!!” Lexa whipped her head around just in time to see the metal bat collide with Raven’s thigh and hear her scream in pain. Immediately Octavia ripped away from the girl she was currently fighting and grabbed Raven, dragging her back from the fight as she howled in pain.

“Raven!” Lexa yelled.  
“Ha, that’s what you get for getting involved, we told you-” Ontari was suddenly cut off buy a fist straight to her face. Lexa heard the all too familiar gruesome crunch of her nose breaking and looked to see who had done it. Before her eyes stood Clarke, dusty from the gravel with blood dribbling down her chin. With the distraction of Raven’s screaming, Clarke had managed to shake the two girls off of her and now turned on Ontari. Lexa was stunned, she caught Clarke’s eyes and was surprised at the fire behind them. She just watched as Clarke took down Ontari completely, and then turned on the other girls.Clarke didn’t even flinch when the metal bat made contact with her ribs, she just turned and grabbed it, throwing it under the car and slamming the girl to the ground. In just a few minutes Clarke was the only one left standing, her and Lexa, as the rest of the soccer team made their way over. Clarke stood there panting. In the fight, her flannel shirt had gotten torn apart and there was blood on her white tank top now. The gravel had scraped through her leggings in a few places as well. Lexa stared unabashedly, and for a few seconds it was just them.   
“Oh my god! Are you guys okay?!” Harper yelled, coming over with Monroe behind her. Tris hung back with a few other players.  
“Uhm, yeah, I-” Lexa began but was cut off.  
“We’re okay, but Raven needs to go to the hospital.” Clarke said huskily, wiping some of the blood off her face and making her way over to Raven and Octavia. Ontari groaned, slowly pulling herself up along with the rest of her krew. “You guys had better get out of here, or we will call the police and press charges.” Ontari grit her teeth, but said nothing back, gathering her moaning krew and getting the hell out of there. Lexa watched as Clarke went over and helped Raven up. Her and Octavia sat Raven down on the grass next to the lot, careful not to jostle her leg. A few moments later Jasper and Monty arrived with Dr. Kane hot on their heels.

“What on Earth happened here?!” He bellowed as Monty and Jasper stared. The whole soccer team was there now, and and in the tussle the bat had shattered the glass on Clarke’s rear window.   
“We can fill you in later, but right now you need to get Raven to the hospital, they hit her pretty hard in the leg.” Dr. Kane ran a hand through his dark hair and sighed.   
“Fine, but we will discuss this tomorrow morning. Are you sure you don’t need to go too? You look like you got hit a few times too.” Dr. Kane offered, but Clarke shook her head.   
“It’s just superficial, nothing I can’t treat with a first aid kit.” Clarke smiled and Kane grimaced a little, seeing blood on her teeth.  
“Alright, boys, help me carry Raven to my car. Is anyone else injured? Lexa?”  
“No, we’re all fine.” Lexa said, going with Octavia to help Raven up. They both supported her as she hobbled to Dr. Kane’s car. Once Raven was loaded into the back seat, Octavia hopped in.   
“I’m going with, I’ll call her folks on the way.” Octavia turned to Lexa, “Sorry to ditch practice Commander.”  
“No worries, keep us updated on Ray and let us know if we can bring you guys anything.” Lexa said and Octavia gave her a thumbs up.  
“Marcus, Go to Jaha Memorial and ask for my mom, she’ll remember Ray and get her back asap.” Clarke said, leaning into the driver’s window.  
“Okay Clarke, should I tell her where you are? You know she is worried.”  
“I would prefer you didn’t, we’re still not on the best terms and some space will do us good.”  
“Fine, come in early tomorrow morning and we’ll talk.” Dr. Kane relented and Clarke nodded gratefully. Meanwhile, Lexa was more confused than ever. After they drove off, Lexa turned to the soccer team while Clarke went over to her car.  
“Guys, I think it’s in our best interest to cancel practice today. I’ll keep you guys updated on Ray and everything. Monty, Jasper, you guys live close to Raven, could one of you drive her pickup back to her house?”  
“Yeah, sure, she still keep a spare key under the plate?” Jasper asked and Lexa nodded. “What about Clarke?” Monty ventured, watching the blonde push bits of broken glass out of her rear passenger window.   
“I’ll make sure she is okay. I’m not sure why she refused to go to the hospital with Dr. Kane, but she definitely needs some medical attention.”  
“Alright, we’ll see you tomorrow then.” The boys headed to where Raven’s truck and Monty’s car were parked. Harper and Monroe gathered the rest of the team and went back to the field the clean things up and gather their things. As soon as they were alone, Clarke collapsed against her car. Lexa rushed over to her.  
“Hey, you really should have gone to the hospital with Dr. Kane, you took a lot of hits. Though, it looks like you paid every hit back tenfold.” Clarke gave her a pained looking and leaned back against the car.

“Sorry you got involved,” Clarke reached up to touch Lexa’s cheek, “it looks like Ontari got you with her left hook. It’s a shame to bruise up those beautiful cheekbones.” Lexa froze at the contact of Clarke’s hands, surprised by how cold they were. Lexa hadn’t even noticed the bruise beginning to seep up under the skin on her cheek.  
“Uhm, yeah, well, I’m fine. I’m much more worried about you right now, we need to get you some medical attention. Why didn’t you go to the hospital?” Clarke struggled to stand up and Lexa reached out to help her to her feet.  
“My mom works there.” Clarke said as Lexa helped support her. They walked over to the grass and Lexa helped sit Clarke down. “And we don’t get along. She doesn’t even know I transferred here.” Lexa let go of Clarke, but when she pulled her hand back it was sticky with blood.  
“Shit Clarke, you’re bleeding a lot.” Lexa said, noticing the sweat beading on Clarke’s forehead.  
“Yeah, Nia got me good with that bat.” Clarke replied, gingerly poking her ribs with her fingers. Her knuckles were raw and Lexa could see fresh bruises beneath the swelling.   
“We need to go and get you patched up, okay?” Lexa pleased, but Clarke just shook her head.  
“I can’t, they slashed my tires before I got there. I’m probably lucky they have enough integrity to not use the knife on me.” Clarke laid back in the grass that was just starting to die in the chilly fall air. Her head was spinning, possibly from blood loss, possibly from the blows to the head she had received. 

“Who were they Clarke?” Lexa asked quietly, watching blood seep through Clarke’s top and slowly spread. Clarke’s chest rose sharply with each breath and Lexa desperately wanted to do something to help, but she had no clue. This was not the Clarke that she could recognize. This girl was different. The look Lexa had seen in her eyes during the fight told volumes to Lexa, volumes that she had never even glimpsed before. So much more had changed than Lexa had ever thought. Lexa realized that when they parted ways, her life had begun to get better, but it looked like Clarke’s had taken a different turn. 

“They were my old gang, at my old school I was their leader and Ontari was my second.”  
“You...were in a gang? Like, a real gang?” Lexa asked incredulously.  
“Yeah, it’s a different world there, you’re on top here because of soccer, the only way to power there was the gang system. I didn’t really have a choice. It’s sort of the kill or be killed mentality there. Anyway, I wanted out, so Bellamy helped me transfer here. But you can’t just leave a gang.”  
“Hence them showing up here and beating you to a pulp?”  
“Pretty much. I’m sorry everyone got involved, I really hope Raven is okay.”  
“Me too.” They sat in silence for a moment, Lexa listening to Clarke’s breathing becoming more and more ragged.   
“Alright, I’m not done asking you questions, but we need to get some help patching you up. Come on.” Clarke looked at Lexa questioningly.


	8. Chapter 8

“I already told you, my tires are slashed and if I ride with you I’ll ruin your seat.”  
“You’re more important than the seats, besides, I have a few beach towels in my trunk that I can put down. You need medical attention and we’ve wasted too much time already. My uncle used to do martial arts and was a medic in the army a while back. We’re going to him, so come on.” Lexa carefully pulled Clarke to her feet, noticing how cold and clammy her skin was getting to the touch.

“Okay.” Clarke didn’t argue, she knew Lexa was right. She could tell that her ribs were probably fractured in a few places and her knuckles and lips were bloody. There was probably glass in her legs in a few places too. Clarke cooperated silently and Lexa carefully put Clarke in her car and then grabbed Clarke’s surprisingly light backpack.Lexa had left her stuff in her car during practice, so it was already there.  
“Thanks Lex.” Clarke said quietly and Lexa’s heart fluttered at the way Clarke said her name. “I appreciate your help.”  
“What are friends for?” Lexa replied, giving Clarke a small smile. The sun was just slipping beneath the horizon line outside, so the small city was bathed in oranges and pinks that danced across Clarke’s pale skin. Lexa could see that she was clutching her side and trying to sit in a way that wouldn’t get blood on anything important.  
“Friends huh? And here I thought you still hated me.” Clarke remarked absently and Lexa didn’t respond. Lexa was glad to see her uncle’s truck in the driveway when they got to her house, as well as Anya’s car.

“Looks like the whole fam is home.” Lexa said, getting out of the car and going around to help Clarke.  
“‘You don’t have to help me, I don’t want to get blood on your clothes.” Clarke struggled her way out of Lexa’s grip only to stagger and nearly fall into her.  
“Don’t worry about it, these are just some practice clothes.” Lexa was wearing a black tank top and shorts that were more grass stained than anything else. Lexa carefully guided Clarke up the steps and opened the front door.  
“Hey Lex, you’re home early! I thought practice went late tonight?” Anya yelled from the living room.  
“Something came up, where is Gus?” Lexa yelled back, practically carrying Clarke through the door and into the house.  
“I think he is in the backyard gardening or something, what’s with all the noise?” Anya poked her head around the corner and promptly dropped the juice pouch she was drinking from.  
“What the hell Lex! What did you do to her?” Anya rushed over to help set Clarke down on one of their kitchen chairs. “I know you can hold a grudge, but you didn’t have to run over her!” Anya nearly shouted.  
“I didn’t do anything to her, okay? Now please get Gus for me before she fucking passes out!” Anya shook her head and ran out to the backyard. A few minutes later Anya returned with him.  
“Hey kiddo, Anya said something about one of your friends needing help?” He asked and Lexa just nodded towards Clarke, who was slumped in the chair looking more dead than before. “Good lord! What happened to the poor girl?” Gus said, quite alarmed at the sight.  
“There was a fight at school, she has lost a lot of blood.”  
“And why didn’t you take her to a hospital?”  
“Reasons that aren’t important right now. Can you help her? I remember you were a medic, right?”  
Gus ran a hand through his hair and scratched his beard, before sighing.  
“Yeah, but we need to work fast, so you girls both go wash your hands and get the medical kit out from under the sink.” Gus turned to Clarke, whose eyelids were drooping over glassy eyes. “Hey honey, you have to stay awake, okay? Tell me what hurts and I’ll do what I can for you.” Clarke managed a weak nod.  
“Ribs busted, glass in legs, knuckles.” Clarke listed through heavy breaths.  
“Alright, I’ll see what I can do.” A few moments later Lexa and Anya returned with the supplies. “Anya, get a bunch of ice and put it in baggies.” Gus directed, “Lexa, you have to keep her awake as best you can.”

“Yes sir!” The two girls said at the same time Anya quickly went to the freezer, while Lexa knelt by Clarke.  
“Clarke stay awake, okay? You have to stay awake.” Clarke offered her a weak smile in return as Gus gently scooped her up in his arms.  
“Lexa, lay the spare sheets out on the mattress in the spare bedroom and some towels.” Lexa nodded and hurried in front of Gus to lay out the old sheets so that he could lay Clarke down on them. Once she was laid on them, Lexa knelt by her head and put her hand on Clarke’s forehead, brushing her hair back from her face. There was bruises around both her eyes, and some bruising down her cheek. She had a few scratches on her chin and left cheekbone and her bottom lip was crusted in dried blood and swelling. Lexa got a warm washcloth and dabbed what blood and grime she could from Clarke’s face. Clarke really was a beautiful girl, even bruised and bleeding, and Lexa ached inside thinking about it. Anya came in with the ice a moment later.

“Okay girls, we’ve got to get her clothes off in order to clean the glass out of her cuts and for me to get a good look at those ribs. Lexa?” Lexa nodded, carefully reaching towards Clarke.  
“I’m sorry Clarke, but I’m going to have to take this off.” Clarke nodded, giving no indication whatsoever of discomfort in having her clothing removed. Instead, she sat up slightly, making it easier for Lexa to peel the once white tank top off of her. Clarke’s bra was stained on one side with blood, but otherwise was okay to be left on. In the light Clarke’s skin looked pale enough to glow and Lexa could barely keep herself from running her fingers across it. Next the leggings had to come off, which made Clarke wince. Once they had Clarke in nothing but her underwear, Gus went to work. Anya and Lexa took turns talking to Clarke and pulling pieces of glass out of her arms and legs. Luckily, most of it was window glass, so the tempered chunks were not deeply embedded. They cleaned, disinfected and bandaged every single one as they went. Gus cleaned up the wound on her ribs and examined it carefully. The only time Clarke made any noise was when he was pressing on her ribs to see which ones had been fractured by the bat.  
“It looks like none of her ribs are shattered or badly broken, just a few fractures on three of them. The bruising is so bad here though, and the skin was torn up as well. I’m afraid it’s going to take a while before breathing isn’t painful.” Clarke just nodded slightly. Meanwhile, Lexa worked on cleaning out the scrapes and cuts on her knuckles while Anya had packed ice against much of her bruised skin.

“Looks like your knuckles have had this kind of treatment for years.” Lexa remarked and Clarke did not respond.  
“Not just your knuckles, right blondie?” Anya asked, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Bellamy had spoken some about Clarke’s less than ideal life, but Anya had not expected this disaster at all.  
“Anyway, once we get her all bandaged up, she will need some rest and plenty of fluids to replace the blood she lost. She really would be better off at a hospital where they could watch her for signs of internal bleeding or trauma, but since that doesn’t seem to be an option, you girls are going to have to keep an eye on her all night.”  
“That’s fine, I’ll stay with her.” Lexa volunteered, much to Anya’s surprise.  
“Okay, let’s finish this then.” It took another 30 minutes to get her ribs properly bandaged and wrap up her knuckles. The ice that Anya had brought helped the swelling from the blows her face received, but now the bruises had darkened. Lexa left momentarily and threw away Clarke’s dirty clothing, returning with some of her own pajamas and a spare pair of underwear. They had managed to get most of the dirt and dried blood wiped away, and Gus had left to put away his supplies, while Anya got some juice pouches and a few snacks to bring them. Lexa helped Clarke out of the last of her clothing, making sure to avert her eyes as much as possible and be very careful of where her hands were at all times. Then got her dressed in the large grey sleepshirt and a pair of Polis High sweatpants that Lexa had to roll the bottom cuffs up on twice. Throughout the ordeal they were both silent. Lexa realized that Clarke must have been running on adrenaline back at the lot, because now it looked like she could barely move without gritting her teeth.

“Thank you Lexa, I’m sorry to have taken up your night, as well as your family’s.” Clarke said, once she was dressed and sitting up against the headboard. Lexa looked back at her and saw her staring down at her hands. “I feel bad that you got involved in more of my issues, it almost feels like history repeating itself.” Clarke offered a small smile, but still didn’t make eye contact.  
“It’s a little different now, I mean, this time you’re the one who got beat up, not me.” Lexa replied, balling up the dirty sheets and putting them by the door. Anya came in with some food and drinks and Lexa took the opportunity to go change into her own pajamas and take out her contacts.  
“Alright Clarke, I brought a bunch of snacks and you have to drink at least two of these water bottles to replace the blood you lost.” Anya sat down on the edge of the bed and watched as Clarke nodded and accepted the water. Anya glanced out the door to make sure Lexa was out of earshot, before turning back to Clarke, who had started eating some applesauce. “So, what the hell happened?” Clarke looked up, surprised by Anya’s tone.  
“Uhm.” Anya shook her head.  
“I don’t want an uhm, I want an answer. Is my baby sister in any danger because of this? Because if she is, I will dump you in the nearest alley and call whoever beat you up the first time to come finish the job.” Clarke could tell by the cold look in her eyes that Anya was not kidding.  
“No, she isn’t in any danger.” Clarke said seriously and Anya raised an eyebrow.  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yes, I swear she is safe. Nobody was after her in the first place, just me. Lexa and her friends tried to help. Don’t worry, I would do anything to protect Lexa.”  
“You would? And why is that?” Anya was hoping to pry a little more information out of Clarke, but their conversation was cut off by Lexa walking back in.  
“Hey guys, I just got a message from Octavia, she said that Raven is fine and they have left the hospital. Looks like it was just a fracture in her femur. She’ll be in a walking cast and on crutches for 6-8 weeks, but she will be fine.” Lexa was reading off of her phone and when she looked up she noticed the odd tension in the air. “What were you two talking about?” Anya stood up and gave Clarke a look that said that wasn’t the end of the conversation before turning to Lexa.  
“Nothing, I was just telling Clarke to drink plenty of that water.” Anya said, walking towards the doorway.  
“Uh-huh.” Lexa said skeptically, watching Anya leave before turning to Clarke. “So, what were you really talking about?”  
“Anya was just telling me to drink plenty of water and not bleed on anymore of your things.”  
“Uh-huh.”  
“I’m glad to hear that Raven is alright, I hope O is okay too.” Clarke said, shifting a little and wincing.  
“Are you sure about going to school tomorrow?” Lexa asked, but Clarke nodded.  
“Yeah, I need to explain everything to Marcus. Hopefully the school doesn’t report my car too soon since there is no way I can afford 4 new tires. Oh shit, my job! They’re going to be pissed at me for missing my shift today.” Clarke dropped her head into her hands.  
“Could you call them? Where do you work?” Lexa asked.  
“I work at the public library, I don’t do anything super crucial to their functioning, so they won’t fire me, but they’re not going to be happy with me. And I’m not sure what happened to my phone, have you seen it?”  
“Oh yeah, it’s in your bag, I’ll go grab it. Do you need anything else?” Lexa asked, getting up. Clarke shook her head.  
“No, I think you’ve done more than enough already Lexa, thank you.” Clarke smiled genuinely and Lexa felt a flutter in her chest. She walked downstairs to retrieve her bag and Clarke’s from her car, trying not to think of the way that Clarke’s lips looked. When she came back inside, Gus was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a beer.  
“How is your friend doing? She was awful quiet while we were bandaging her up.”  
“I don’t think it’s the first time that’s happened to her.” Lexa replied, sitting down for a moment with Gus.  
“Why didn’t you take that idiot to the hospital?” Anya walked in from the living room and asked.  
“She asked me not to.” Lexa answered.  
“Still, she could have internal bleeding from that blunt force trauma on her side. What the hell did that?”  
“A metal bat.” Lexa said, remembering the sickening noise it had made when it hit her.  
“Jesus, please tell me you did not get involved in this Lexa. This girl seems like a bad influence. I don’t like it. She is going to hurt you or get you hurt.” Anya said, still concerned at what she had heard from Bellamy about Clarke.  
“I’m not involved in this, but it’s not like I could just stand by and watch either. Raven and Octavia were there too. It’s not really her fault, okay?” Lexa defended, not wanting them to get the wrong idea about Clarke. “If it makes you feel better, her grades are better than mine are.” She added, remembering a few weeks ago when their quarterly report cards came out.  
“Really?” Anya asked, surprised.  
“Yeah, and I doubt Clarke will hurt me, she defended her friends, that’s how she got hit with the bat.”  
“Okay Lex, I will leave this up to your judgement. I trust you to know people and make a good decision about her presence in your life.” Gus said, giving Anya a pointed look.  
“Thank you Gus, and thank you for helping patch her up, I know she appreciates it more than you can imagine.” Lexa headed back upstairs, leaving Gus and Anya to talk. Back in the spare bedroom Lexa found Clarke standing and looking out the back window. She had managed to put her tangled hair up in a ponytail. She looked very small to Lexa draped in her clothes.  
“Hey, I found your phone, but the screen is cracked.” Clarke turned around and smiled a little, trying not to crack open her lip again.  
“Thank you, It was already cracked, so that’s fine.” Lexa handed the phone to Clarke, who quickly sat back down on the bed and unlocked her phone. She sent a quick message to her boss and some to Octavia and Raven. Lexa sat down on the other side of the bed, watching Clarke struggle to type out her messages with stiff fingers.

“Why didn’t you fight back?” Lexa asked quietly.  
“Huh?” Clarke looked up into Lexa’s green eyes and saw a hint of real concern that was a little deeper than Clarke expected.  
“Why didn’t you fight back Clarke? I saw you fight, you probably could have taken them all on. I did not expect that at all, it was a little scary. Why let them beat the shit out of you? You could have saved yourself a lot of pain.” Clarke sighed.  
“I just wanted it to be over. I know those girls and I know the shit they have been through in their lives. If just getting my ass kicked for the billionth time in my life will get me free of them and make them feel better, so be it. That’s fine, but they can’t hurt my friends, that’s not okay.” Clarke finished.  
“You’re an idiot, you know that, right?” Lexa asked and Clarke just nodded.  
“I know, I brought this on myself, and then got the people I care about involved in it too. That’s not what I wanted.”  
“That’s not what I meant, you have friends here. Everyone would have helped if you had told them. I mean, Ray and Octavia jumped head first into it. I had to tell the soccer team not to go after those girls. I know how it feels to be alone, but you’ve got all of us now. We got your back.” Lexa smiled, but it faltered when she looked back up at Clarke whose eyes were filled with tears. Lexa couldn’t stop herself, Clarke was beautiful. The past faded away and she leaned forward. Clarke’s lips met Lexa’s softly and Lexa could taste the coppery blood from the cut. Neither girl pulled away and for a moment they just kissed. As it deepened, Lexa felt Clarke flinch and pulled away quickly, scared she had hurt her lip. Lexa looked at Clarke, who just stared back at her in shock. Her tears had run down her cheeks, but her eyes were dry now and full of surprise. Lexa suddenly realized what she had just done and everything that had happened that day and mortification set in. She felt her entire face burn and quickly looked away from Clarke.

“I uh, I’m sorry, we should go to bed since school is early.” Lexa managed to say, getting off the bed and heading for the door. “If you need anything, just let me know.” Lexa rushed out, shutting the door behind her on a confused Clarke. Once alone, Clarke reached up and touched her lips. She didn’t even feel the bruises, but her heart was hammering against her busted ribs. She could still feel Lexa’s lips on her own and it was one of the best feelings in the world. Clarke curled up on the bed, glad that Anya had brought up some pillows and a soft comforter. The room, just like the house, smelled like Lexa and it was comforting. After a few minutes Clarke realized just how tired and sore she was, it had been a long day and tomorrow would probably be even longer. She fell asleep thinking about Lexa’s expression right after they had kissed. It had been such a complex mixture of emotions. 

Meanwhile, Lexa lay face down on her bed, feeling like her face was burning holes into the blanket. What the hell had she just done? Clarke was her old bully. Clarke was only in her house because she had just been beaten to a pulp by her old gang members. Clarke was injured and vulnerable and fucking adorable in Lexa’s pajamas. Clarke was beautiful and tougher than Lexa ever would have given her credit for. Clarke was so many things that it made Lexa’s head spin. Lexa could still taste Clarke’s lips, still feel them kissing her back. In fact, it was all she could think about for the rest of the night.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning Lexa was exhausted and had almost forgotten that the day before had not just been a weird dream. It wasn’t until she walked past the spare bedroom and noticed all the blankets neatly folded at the end of the bed that she remembered everything. She quickly walked downstairs and found Anya sitting at the counter eating a bowl of granola and fruit before class. Gus was at the dinner table drinking some coffee.

“Where is Clarke?” Lexa asked.  
“Good morning to you too sunshine.” Anya responded, getting up to put her bowl in the dishwasher.  
“It looks like she took off before we all got up. She left a note though.” Gus motioned to the piece of paper sitting on the table near him. Lexa quickly picked it up and read it. Again, she noticed the cursive script, but it was much more wobbly this time.

“Thank you all so much for your kindness and help. I’m sorry to have been a burden to you and I hope I didn’t cause too much trouble. I truly appreciate everything you have done for me and hopefully can pay you back for it one day.  
Sincerely,  
Clarke.”

Lexa sat the note back on the table and sighed. Gus looked up from his newspaper.  
“I can’t believe she just left, I mean, I could have at least given her a ride to school or back to her place or something.” Lexa said.  
“It sounded like she felt pretty bad about causing us any trouble, so I doubt she would have accepted your offer. I am concerned though, she really shouldn’t be moving around so much with those injuries. A few days to heal would do her a world of good.” Gus said, shaking his head a little.  
“Yeah, I know, but she is stubborn, if nothing else.” Lexa remarked, wondering just how Clarke was planning on getting to school without her car. There was no way she could ride a bike in her condition.  
“I hope she at least knows how to take care of those injuries. If she doesn’t, she is going to need you to rescue her sorry ass again.” Anya said and Lexa rolled her eyes.  
“She probably does, she wanted to be a doctor like her mom when she was little.” Lexa said, still lost in thought. She headed back upstairs to get ready for school. Once at school, 

Lexa made a beeline for her homeroom, hoping to see Clarke there. When she walked in, everyone was surrounding Raven’s desk, signing her walking cast while she bragged about how the fight went down. Octavia sat next to her and rolled her eyes at the reenactment. Clarke was nowhere to be seen, but neither was their homeroom teacher.  
“Hey Lexa! Come tell them about what happened, you were the first one on the scene and we haven’t seen Clarke.” Raven said, waving Lexa over. Lexa sighed and came over, grabbing a green sharpie to sign Raven’s cast. A few of the girls from the soccer team who had been there were in the room too, talking about the fight.  
“Glad to see you’re alright Ray, I was worried.” Lexa said, wondering why they hadn’t asked her about Clarke.  
“Yep, Dr. Griffin herself patched me right up. You should have seen her face, it’s been forever since I saw her.”  
“Same, she looks like she has been through some shit.” Octavia added. “Plus, she knows Dr. Kane.”  
“Did she ask about Clarke?” Lexa asked, shooing some of the other kids away.  
“Yeah, wanted to know if we had seen her recently. I think she really wants to talk to her. I texted Clarke about it, but I haven’t heard back from her since last night.” Raven said.  
“What happened last night?” Octavia asked and Lexa automatically looked away.  
“Seriously, when we left with Dr. Kane, Clarke was looking pretty rough. Did you take her to the doctor or anything?” Raven asked.  
“Well, as unpleasant as your leg injury is, I think Clarke really took the brunt of that fight. After you guys left, she pretty much collapsed and refused medical help.”  
“Shit, that girl is an idiot.” Raven laid her head down on the desk.  
“Tell me about it. I took her back to my place and Gus helped bandage her up, but she was gone this morning when I got up.” Lexa said, glossing over the details.  
“Damn Lex, you must really like her if you brought her home.” Raven winked and elbowed Lexa in the ribs.  
“Knock it off moron, it’s not like that.” Lexa said.  
“Then why are your ears red?” Raven countered.  
“Guys, in all seriousness, is she okay?” Octavia asked and Lexa made a mental note to thank her later.  
“I’m not sure. She was pretty beat up last night, she has busted ribs and probably fingers. Her car is stuck here too, so she must have walked this morning, which could not have been fun with her injuries.”  
“Yeah, we saw the slashed tires this morning.” Octavia said.  
“I can probably get her some used tires from the mechanics that I work at, but I won’t be able to do that by myself.” Raven said, gesturing to her leg.  
“Well, first we have to find her before we can do anything.” Octavia said.  
“You know, you guys seem surprisingly chill about this whole gang situation. Is there something you haven’t been telling me?” Lexa asked, examining the two girls’ faces.  
“Well, we might have known a little bit more about it than you, but we haven’t known for very long.” Octavia confessed.  
“Yeah, and we only really found out because Bellamy helped her transfer here.” Raven added, trying to shift some of Lexa’s concerns and hopefully her death stare as well.  
“Uh-huh. Well, next time you guys should really include me in these heart-to-hearts because that would have helped this situation.”  
“We weren’t really sure how you felt about Clarke at that point, Lexa.” Octavia said quietly.  
“We figured you still wanted to keep her at a distance. You can be a little hard to read sometimes. Emotionally, that is.” Raven said. “And we don’t blame you for that, but she really has changed. We all have, I mean, Jesus Christ, it’s been eight years. None of us are those little kids anymore.”  
“I know.” Lexa said, sitting down at her desk and looking out the window. 

Octavia and Raven exchanged glances before continuing their conversation together. A few minutes later the last bell rang for homeroom and in walked Dr. Kane, followed by a very tired looking Clarke. Lexa watched her carefully walk in and whisper something to Dr. Kane on the way to her seat. She walked carefully, like each footfall was painful, which it probably was to her aching body. She wore a grey sweater with sparkles woven into the yarn under a burgundy jacket with a hood. Her legs were hidden by dark leggings that had a few holes in them. For the first time, Lexa noticed that her shoes looked like they had been hand-painted and well-loved. The jacket sleeves were pulled down so that only the tips of Clarke’s fingers showed and with the sweater on, no one would notice the extra bulk from the bandages on her ribs. The only noticeable marks were on her face, but even those had been covered carefully by makeup. Even the break in her lower lip was almost invisible behind pink lip gloss. Clarke was an expert at this, Lexa concluded. Clarke offered Lexa a weak smile, as she sat gingerly in her desk in front of her. Lexa just watched her carefully. 

“Alright class, I know that rumors spread quickly, especially when people fan the flames,” he gave a pointed look at Raven who just grinned back, “but the fight after school yesterday is an important matter that school officials are looking into. If any of you were present or have anything you want to talk about concerning it, please take some time to go by the office today. Since it occurred after school hours and in the parking lot, the campus security is not getting involved in the actual fight, but would like to be on the look-out in case they return. Otherwise, we can all wish Raven a quick recovery and make sure to sign her cast.” Dr. Kane continued with other morning announcements, which Lexa promptly tuned out for staring at the back of Clarke’s head.

“Hey,” Lexa whispered, and Clarke carefully turned in her seat a little bit. “Why didn’t you wait this morning? I could have given you a ride and stuff. You didn’t have to walk.”  
“I’m sorry, I just didn’t want to cause any more issues for your family.” Clarke whispered back in her husky voice that made Lexa’s skin tingle.  
“Are you sure you should be at school? I mean, I saw your injuries.” Lexa asked, truly concerned.  
“Don’t worry, I’m fine. I’ve been through worse.” Clarke whispered back with a soft smile. The rest of the day went by quickly with half the school crowding around their lunch table to hear an overzealous Raven retell the story of the epic after school battle. The soccer team served as key witnesses and Clarke tried her best to hide. Lexa spent the day in a constant battle between trying her best to protect Clarke and trying her best to stay out of the discussion. Usually Lexa loved being the center of the school’s attention, but today her focus was on Clarke. She watched her every move, trying to gauge if she was in pain or what was going through her mind. By the end of the day, Lexa was mentally exhausted. At practice, she was a space case.  
“Lex, what the hell?” Octavia yelled after the fourth play they did without finishing.  
“Seriously Commander, what’s going on with you? Did you get hurt in that fight or something?” Monroe asked, gesturing to the slight bruising on Lexa’s cheek where she had gotten hit.  
“Nah, Lex and I only got a few minor hits.” Octavia said, looking carefully at Lexa.  
“Well, I’m going to go get some water with the team.” Monroe said, sensing her presence was not desired at that moment. As soon as Monroe was over at the benches with the rest of the team, Octavia turned back to Lexa.  
“Did something happen between you and Clarke? You’ve been watching her like a hawk all day, you know.” Lexa sighed, and sat down on the grass. Octavia sat silently next to her.  
“I’m just worried, that’s all. I mean, you should have seen how bad her injuries were last night. She literally let those girls beat the hell out of her. She has broken bones and the skin on her ribs is pretty torn up too. The girl is one big walking bruise.” Lexa picked at the grass by her cleats.  
“Hey, I know she took a lot of hits, but she will be okay.” Octavia reached out a hand to comfort Lexa, a little surprised by how concerned she was about Clarke. Octavia really started to wonder what was going on between Lexa and Clarke.  
“I know she’ll be okay, from the looks of it, this has happened to her before. And she knows medical stuff and all, but, like, I couldn’t do anything.” Lexa said, looking down at the grass.  
“Well, I think you did a lot more than any of us. You helped her and made sure she was okay. I don’t think she has had a lot of that in her life at this point. I know my brother has helped her some, but you actually took her home and patched her up. You did a lot Lexa, especially for someone you resent.”  
“I don’t resent her I don’t think. I don’t know how I feel about her.” Lexa admitted.  
“You seem to care about her.” Octavia said.  
“That’s what friends do.” Lexa responded.  
“Yeah, and sometimes it really hurts.” Octavia smiled and motioned to a few bruises she had gotten in the fight as well.  
“True.” Lexa smiled and poked Octavia in a bruise.  
“Ouch, you suck!” Octavia flinched back. Lexa smiled and stood up from the grass, offering Octavia a hand. She gladly took it and Lexa pulled her to her feet.  
“Alright, good heart to heart, but now we actually have to practice, cause this team has been eating shit all afternoon.” Lexa winked and Octavia just rolled her eyes. This was the Lexa she was used to.  
“Yep, we are such slackers oh brilliant Commander.” Octavia said sarcastically.  
“I know, it’s embarrassing.” Lexa replied, leading them back over to the team to rally and re-do all their plays. After practice, Lexa noticed that Clarke’s car had been removed from the student lot and sent her a message asking about it. 

[Lexa 5:39pm]: “Hey, hope you’re doing okay. I noticed your car had been moved, is it okay?”  
[Clarke 5:41pm]: “Yeah, it’s fine. Raven helped me get new tires and Bellamy helped put them on. It feels like all I do lately is get help. I’m sorry Lex.”  
[Lexa 5:45]: “Oh, I’m glad they helped with that, and don’t worry about it, that’s what friends are for.”

Lexa was glad that Clarke would not be walking everywhere and would hopefully have more time to recover from her injuries. That Saturday there was no game because the next weekend they had two games back to back, so Lexa spent that time catching up on neglected school work from the past few days. She thought about texting Clarke more, but didn’t know what to say. If she just asked about her injuries, that would seem impersonal, but what else was she going to say? So she just said nothing at all. On Sunday Lexa spent the day running errands with Anya for Gus. 

“So, what’s up with blondie? Is she still alive?” Anya asked, as they were loading groceries into the back of Anya’s car.  
“Still alive.” Lexa said, handing Anya the last of the bags and getting into the car. Anya returned the cart and got in. As they pulled out of the shopping center, Anya continued.  
“How is she?” Anya asked, glancing over to gauge Lexa’s reaction.  
“She is fine, I haven’t really talked to her much since the other night anyway. I’ve been busy with practice and she has work. Ask Bellamy if you want more info.”  
“Yeah, I heard he has been helping her out. She seems to need a lot of help.”  
“She never asks for help though.” Lexa couldn’t stop herself from defending Clarke.  
“That seems worse to me, I mean, then you really have to go out of your way to help her.”  
“Anya, what exactly do you have against Clarke?” Lexa asked.  
“What do you have for Clarke?” Anya countered. Lexa didn’t respond, lost in her own thoughts.


	10. Chapter 10

Monday went by in a blur, Lexa still thinking about Anya’s comment. At the end of the day, Lexa was very glad that they didn’t have practice. She needed some time and space to think.

Lexa sat and swung slowly in the swings on her old elementary school playground. It was a few hours after school had let out, so there were no children in sight. This was a place where Lexa had been tortured and mocked so many times. Lexa had found herself wondering here, deeply lost in thought. Now, she was watching the sun slowly sink in the sky and trying to figure her life out. She felt the sand between her toes, her shoes discarded a few feet away. It was a particularly warm October, but her skin still prickled with goose bumps under her varsity jacket.

“Lexa Woods?” A voice startled her out of her thoughts and she looked up into the stern face of Indra, her 2nd and 3rd grade teacher.   
“Oh, I didn’t know you still worked here.” Lexa said dumbly, internally rolling her eyes at herself. Indra just smiled.  
“What’s eating at you Lexa? Last time I saw you, you were a rising soccer star who had just turned 11.” Lexa smiled, looking down at her bare feet for a second as Indra sat down next to her on the swings.  
“You know Indra, I never really thanked you before, but you really saved me in the 2nd grade. You’re the only one who noticed what was going on. Without you, I don’t know what would have happened to me.” Her voice wavered a little on the last part and Indra reached out to pat her shoulder.  
“Sweetheart, it wasn’t me who figured it out, I’m just the one who went to the authorities. Lexa’s eyes went wide, all this time she had assumed it was Indra.  
“What? Then, who-who was it?”   
“It was one of your classmates actually, do you remember that little blonde girl who used to steal your glasses? What was her name, Clarke?” Lexa’s mouth fell open.  
“Clarke Griffin?” She asked in a whisper to an oblivious Indra.  
“Yes, that was her name! She was an interesting little girl, she was always talking about becoming a doctor like her parents, but I always thought she had the potential to be an artist. But that’s besides the point, she is the one who came to me. She was so worried she was sobbing and it took a while for me to understand her. She said you weren’t safe and needed help from an adult. Eventually she told me that she had seen bruises on you that were too big for a another kid to put there. I called DHS as soon as I could and she told them everything as well. She even told the story in court, I’m surprised you didn’t see her there since she was one of the witnesses that they called. It’s so sad what happened to her family, I wonder what she is up to today. She had potential, just like you Lexa.”   
“W-what happened to her family?” Lexa managed to get out, her head swimming with all this new information. She knew Clarke’s family had fallen apart, but now she was scared to find out what really happened. Indra looked surprised.  
“Did they really never tell you any of this? I guess that makes sense, you were only 8 and I don’t know if your uncle was really told either since Clarke had transferred before he got custody.” Indra paused, trying to decide if she should tell Lexa everything that had happened. 

“Well, because of Clarke, DHS uncovered a whole slew of pending charges against your foster parents and they were facing some pretty serious sentences. It’s really such a good thing that they got you out of there when they did, because right before sentencing, Nia crashed her car into Clarke’s in a rage. She blamed them for the storm that was falling down on her.” Suddenly Lexa’s stomach dropped and she felt bile rise in the back of her throat. Indra continued. “Clarke’s father was killed instantly and her mom was in a coma for 5 months. Clarke only suffered some minor injuries I think. That’s why she transferred, she had to go and live with family in another state. I knew she had moved back with her mom a few years later, but she didn’t come back to this school. I ran into her mother once in town. I got the feeling that her mom blamed her for her dad’s death. That poor girl, I really hope she is doing well.”   
Lexa’s head felt like it was going to explode. She had always seen Clarke as her enemy. Even now that they were friends she had some residual resentment for her if she was being honest. But really, Clarke was the only reason she was here. She just stared at Indra, wide eyed. Suddenly all she could think of was Clarke, she had to find Clarke and talk to her. She needed to hear about this from Clarke. Why hadn’t Clarke said anything about it before?   
“Oh goodness, look at the time!” Indra exclaimed checking her cell. “I have to run, but it was really nice to see you again Lexa, and say hello to everyone for me.” Lexa somehow managed to say a polite goodbye before Indra was out of earshot. 

She slowly got off of the swing and started walking, barefoot. By the time she found herself in front of Clarke’s slouched building, the first stars were beginning to twinkle in the deep blue of the twilight sky. Looking up to Clarke’s window she could see the golden glow of her lamp like a beacon, but now Lexa felt a new feeling gnaw at her insides. Guilt. She hadn’t been mean to Clarke, but she had certainly been a little hot and cold to her. Before Lexa could rethink this and stop herself, she climbed the dark and dirty stairs up the Clarke’s front door and knocked.   
“Hold on a sec!” Lexa heard Clarke’s muffled voice and some shuffling around inside. She swallowed hard, not sure what she was going to say when Clarke answered. She had rehearsed a few things on her way over, but when the door opened and Clarke was in front of her Lexa’s mind was almost blank.

“Lexa? What are you doing here at this time of night?” Clarke’s blue eyes sparkled with curiosity and Lexa’s heart sped up. Clarke was was just wearing an oversized red and gray baseball tee and boyshorts, her hair was up in a messy bun. Lexa could see the bandages on her knuckles needing to be changed, but all the cuts on her legs looked like they were healing. Even the bruises on her face were beginning to heal. She was beautiful. “Do you, do you want to come in?” Clarke asked when Lexa said nothing. Lexa nodded and Clarke stood aside. “Sorry about the mess, it’s kind of impossible to keep this tiny place clean.” Clarke smiled tentatively, but Lexa didn’t respond. She glanced around the single room apartment briefly, noticing the art supplies that practically obscured the desk and the easel in the corner by the messy bed. “Can I um, can I get you anything? I think I’ve got some juice and my milk might still be good. I haven’t really had a chance to go to the store recently.” Lexa managed to shake her head. “Okay….do you want to sit down and tell me what’s got you so weird tonight?” Clarke motioned for Lexa to sit on the bed next to where she had perched. Lexa carefully obliged, still not making eye contact with Clarke.   
“I don’t think I’ve seen you wearing your glasses since I transferred.” Clarke commented, still not getting a response from Lexa. Honestly, she had just forgotten her contacts that morning and had to wear her glasses. “So…” Clarke trailed off waiting for Lexa to fill in the blanks, but Lexa’s mind was so full of questions that she didn’t know which one to start with. “Alrighty then, I’ll do this myself.” Clarke smiled. “Hi Lexa, how are you? Oh, I’m doing well Clarke, how are you? Well, I’m a little confused as to what brought you here at this time of night. Yes, about that, I came to talk to you about something important, but now I’m just sitting here silently avoiding your pretty blue eyes.” Clarke stopped when she saw a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of Lexa’s soft lips. “That’s really all I’ve got, unless you want me to continue?”  
“Why did you bully me when we were little?” Lexa blurted out. It wasn’t her first question, but it was the one she managed to get out. Clarke looked surprised and then looked down at her hands that were folded in her lap. Clarke noticed that there was no venom behind the question, which was a little surprising. It sounded like genuine curiosity.  
“Getting right to the point now, huh?” Lexa didn’t respond, just looked at Clarke expectantly. Clarke took a deep breath.  
“I’m sorry…”  
“Answer the question.” Lexa said it gently, but it still felt demanding.   
“It’s dumb, you’re gonna think I’m dumb.” Clarke looked up into Lexa’s pleading eyes, but couldn’t hold her intense green stare for long. “Okay, so, you know how when boys are in elementary school they think girls have cooties?” Lexa raised her eyebrows, but nodded unsure of where this was going. “Well, because of the cooties issue, if they have a crush on a girl they just pick on her. It’s stupid and immature, I know. But it was the only example I really had to follow.” Clarke trailed off, hoping Lexa got her drift, but Lexa didn’t respond, just waited. “Well, I assumed that if I liked a girl, I should just act the same way, right? Totally made sense to 8 year old Clarke anyway. So, I bullied you to cover up how I really felt. I mean, I also didn’t really understand it either. My feelings, that is. All the little girls liked the little boys and vice versa, so I was kind of lost. And then I was worried because what if someone found out that I liked a girl? What if it made my family upset? I was scared and stupid and feel free to stop my rambling any time now before I die of embarrassment or keep going, which might actually be worse...”   
“And what do you think of me now?” Lexa asked. “Do I still have cooties or whatever?” Clarke took a nervous breath and softened at the question.  
“You totally still have cooties, but now I also think that you’re an amazing, talented, beautiful person. I could never have imagined just who you would grow up to be, I was so surprised when I saw you.”  
“So was I. I never thought I would see you again, less-lone in my class.” Lexa said, trying not to stare at Clarke’s lips.   
“You did look like you had seen a ghost when I first saw you. But then you offered me your jacket, and I realized that you were still the same caring little girl that I used to know.”  
“Well, you are not what I expected at all.” Lexa smiled, tentatively reaching out to touch Clarke’s hand. Wordlessly, Clarke turned her hand so that it was palm up and felt Lexa’s hand slide into her’s. “For one thing, I always assumed you would become one of those blonde, barbie girls. You know, the ones who run the popular cliques.”  
“I mean, you’re not all wrong, I did run a pretty well-known gang for a while there. That’s basically a clique, right?” Clarke tried to smile, but Lexa could see the sadness behind her eyes.  
“I talked to Indra today, by accident. She told me some stuff about you that I never knew. Like, I never knew that you were the one who got me out of that horrible foster home. I never knew what happened to your family was kind of my fault. I’m so sorry Clarke. I always looked back at your presence in my life with anger and resentment, but it turns out you did the most for me and suffered the worst consequences. I really owe you.” Lexa finished, looking at Clarke.  
“Don’t worry about it. I was kind of hoping you would never find out all of that because I didn’t want you to feel bad. It’s not like any of it was really your fault. Sure, my life has taken some less than great turns, but it did bring us back together.” Clarke looked back at Lexa hopefully. Lexa took a deep breath.  
“Clarke, I like you. I can’t get you out of my mind. Octavia nearly hit me with a soccer ball at practice on Friday because I was thinking about you.”  
“Well Alexandria, I think I have liked you since the first day I saw you. You were the most adorable girl I had ever seen, with your huge green eyes and that smile. Every once in a while I would see you smiling while you worked on something or talked to the teacher and I would just stare.” Lexa felt her face flush, trying to remember if she ever noticed Clarke staring at her.  
“I just assumed you were sizing me up or judging me.” She said back, feeling Clarke give a small squeeze to her hand, and then wince from her sore knuckles.  
“I mean, that too, of course, but mostly I just thought you were awesome. Sorry I had a shitty way of conveying that to you.” Clarke said and Lexa shook her head.  
“That’s okay, I’m sorry helping me inadvertently uprooted your life.” Clarke just nodded, staring down at their intertwined hands on the fluffy periwinkle comforter underneath them.

“So…” Clarke began.  
“So?”  
“So, this has been an interesting week.”  
“It sure has been, and it’s only Monday.” Lexa teased back and Clarke rolled her eyes a little. Lexa could stare at her smile all day and not get tired of it.  
“You know what I mean, nerd.”   
“I know, I know, and I’m not the nerd anymore, that’s you. Your grades are immaculate.”  
“Well, even if you think you’re a jock now, your grades are pretty much the same as mine. So, still a cute nerd.”   
“Damn, guess you got me there.” Lexa smiled and there were a few moments of silence between them.  
“So, are we cool?” Clarke ventured.  
“Yeah, I think we’re more than cool. I’m sorry I was so slow to come to my senses, you can ask Ray and O though, it took me a while to forgive them too. They’re just super persistent and my other choices were Jasper and Monty.” Lexa laughed and Clarke nodded her head.  
“They sure are stubborn, but it’s really great to be back with everyone from elementary.” They sat in silence for a few moments.  
“Clarke, would you maybe want to hang out with me sometime? Just the two of us?”  
“Is that your lame way of asking me on an almost date?” Clarke asked with a grin and Lexa looked down at their hands again.  
“I think so.” Lexa replied.  
“Sure, but in the spirit of full disclosure, Finn asked me out first.” Lexa whipped her head up to look at Clarke.  
“Wait, seriously? Ugh, I knew he would do that. He was always way too protective of you when we were little. When did that little weasel have the chance to do that?” Lexa asked.  
“He caught me after school today when I was in the library, so I couldn’t exactly ditch work to avoid him.”  
“What did you tell him? Do I have to fight him for you or something?”  
“Wow Lex, jumping to conclusions much? I didn’t think you were ready to fight someone for me, since we’re not even dating yet.” Clarke said nonchalantly and Lexa’s face lit up.  
You said yet.”  
“What?”  
“Yet, like, we will be dating soon, just not yet.” Lexa grinned and Clarke’s face turned pink under the darkened bruises.  
“Well, I mean, a girl can hope, right?”  
“Yeah.” Lexa smiled and took a deep breath. “Clarke, will you actually date me? I realized today that I’ve been an immature idiot about this whole thing and you’re amazing and, even if you have cooties, I really like you. I can’t not think about you.”  
“Finally getting to the point, huh? Something tells me that was why you really came here. And yes, I will go out with you.” Lexa could feel herself smiling from ear to ear, this was what she wanted. For a few minutes they both just smiled and stared at each other like losers.  
“Lex, I hate to say this, but it is getting late. Your uncle is going to be wondering where you are, isn’t he?” Clarke asked and Lexa nodded. She had totally lost track of time, and now it was completely dark outside.  
“Yeah, you’re right. My phone is dead too. Oh shit, I walked here, I left my car at school. Ugh, where the hell is my brain.”  
“Wow Lex, and here I thought you were really on top of your game now. But it turns out you’re still an adorable, nervous nerd, just, you know, with abs too. Do you want a ride? Ray and Bell fixed up my car for the thousandth time.”  
“Yes please, I would appreciate it. But first, can I help you change the bandages on your knuckles? I know it’s hard to wrap up your own hands.”  
“It really is, that would be very helpful of you.” Clarke stood up and Lexa followed her to the little bathroom. Clarke took a pack of medical supplies out of the cabinet behind the mirror and sat down on the edge of the bathtub. Lexa took the package and dug through it while Clarke removed the bandages from her knuckles. When she got to the last layer, Lexa heard her hiss in pain. 

“God, your knuckles look like mincemeat. How have you not been complaining about them?”  
“Thanks Lex, you’re so eloquent.” Clarke replied, turning on the sink to rinse her cuts and scrapes. “It’s not that bad, I don’t think anything is broken, just scraped up.” Clarke carefully dried her hands on a clean towel and held them out to Lexa. For a moment, she just examined them. Her knuckles were considerably less swollen, but the skin was still pretty torn up. Lexa carefully smeared them with neosporin and re-bandaged them.  
“There you go, how are your ribs doing?” Lexa asked and without a word Clarke pulled her oversized jersey over her head. Lexa could swear her heart stopped. Sure, she had seen Clarke pretty much naked the other night, but this was different. Clarke was wearing a sports bra and her boyshorts. Now that Lexa was actually looking at her, she could tell that Clarke was more muscular than she seemed. Not as much as Lexa was, but still enough that her fighting skills made a little more sense. There was still a softness to Clarke that Lexa was dying to feel underneath her fingers, but instead she swallowed hard.

“Hey Lex, you okay?” Clarke asked and Lexa quickly looked up.  
“Huh, oh, yeah, sorry. You’re just really pretty. Do you want some help re-bandaging your ribs?”  
“If it’s not too much to ask. I can do it, but it’s an awkward angle.”  
“I can do it.” Lexa carefully removed the layers of bandages as Clarke sat silently. Lexa could feel Clarke’s skin like flames every time her hand brushed it. “Yikes, and I thought your knuckles looked rough.” Lexa remarked, pulling off the last layer of bandaging. There was still a lot of swelling over one of her ribs and Lexa figured that was the fractured one. “I think the skin here is healing a little better than your knuckles.”  
“Yeah, I use my hands and fingers a lot more. Ouch!” Clarke flinched as Lexa pressed a damp towel to the wounds.  
“Sorry, I still think you should have gone to the doctor for this, it’s going to take a long time to heal.” Clarke nodded. Lexa cleaned it and re-bandaged it, watching Clarke slip her shirt back on.  
“Thank you Lexa, now, let me put on some pants and I’ll give you a ride to your car.”  
“Okay.” 

Clarke dropped Lexa off at her car and they exchanged an awkward goodnight and a quick kiss on the lips that left Lexa craving more. Lexa drove home and snuck up to her room, only saying a quick hello to her uncle on her way up the stairs. She had held Clarke’s hand for the whole 15 minute car drive and was absolutely giddy about it. She plugged her phone in and almost texted Octavia and Raven, but then decided to just talk to them at school.


	11. Chapter 11

The next day, Lexa awoke with a fluttering giddiness in her chest. She smiled all the way through getting ready for school. She smiled enough that Anya was skeptical.  
“What’s got you in such a weirdly cheery mood this morning?”  
“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing.” Lexa said, smiling at her granola and yogurt.  
“Yeah, I don’t buy that shit for a second.” Gus cleared his throat from the dining room table.  
“Anya, leave the poor girl alone, at least she is happy. You can annoy her when she is grumpy at breakfast instead.” Anya huffed a little, but relented.  
“Fine, I’ll get it out of you later. Or I’ll just text Raven.”  
“Whatever An.” Lexa continued to smile, just thinking about Clarke. 

When she got to school that morning, she waited in the parking lot until she saw Clarke pull up. After exchanging smiles and good mornings, Lexa held out her hand and Clarke gladly took it.  
“You sure about this?” Clarke asked, before they entered the school and Lexa nodded.  
“Of course, 100%.” So, they walked into school holding hands. The first person they ran into who noticed was Finn.”  
“What the fuck? Are you guys dating or something?” Finn asked and Lexa stepped closer to him.  
“Yep, we are.” She said confidently and Finn backed up a little.  
“Geeze Lexa, do you have to turn all the hot girls? Leave some for the straights, okay?”  
“Finn, I don’t turn anyone, that’s not how it works.”  
“Whatever.” Finn turned to address Clarke. “So, I guess this means our date is off.” Clarke nodded and he walked off in a huff. Lexa just rolled her eyes, squeezing Clarke’s hand gently. When they walked into homeroom, Lexa steeled herself for Octavia and Raven’s reactions.

“Oh. My. God. I knew it!” Octavia shouted, pointing at their hands as they walked to the desks by their friends. “Raven, pay up!”  
“Damn it guys, you couldn’t have waited until November? Now I’m out $20!” Raven fussed, digging into her wallet and handing a crumpled bill to a smiling Octavia.  
“Are you guys serious?” Lexa asked, leaning against the desk that Clarke sat at.   
“We aren’t blind, you know.” Raven said, crossing her arms.  
“I mean, you should have seen the look on your face when you first saw Clarke, we knew you were a goner for sure.”  
“So, when’s your first date?” Monty asked, walking up to the group with Jasper trailing behind. Lately he had been talking more and more to one of the girls on the soccer team, Maya.   
“Hmm, I was thinking Sunday, after the games are over.” Lexa said, turning to Clarke, who nodded.  
“That sounds good to me, I don’t have work that day.” Clarke smiled. The rest of the day, Lexa spent every spare moment with Clarke. She watched for her everywhere and they texted between classes. Clarke had work and Lexa had practice after school for the rest of the week, but they still managed to text a bunch and walk into school together every morning. Octavia and Raven enjoyed poking fun at them, but Lexa didn’t mind at all because she got to hold Clarke’s hand and kiss her goodbye before practice every day. By Friday, their goodbye kisses had gotten heated enough that Lexa could barely remember to keep her hands in decent places. Clarke was soft in her arms, but not in her kisses and it made Lexa want her.

“Are you coming to the game tomorrow?” Lexa asked between kisses on Friday before practice started.  
“Of course I am, who else is going to watch Bellamy and Anya awkwardly not-flirt with each other. Oh, and of course watch my hot girlfriend kick ass out on the field?”  
“I’m your girlfriend?”  
“I sure hope so, otherwise this is going to be even more awkward than their flirting is.”  
“If it means I get to keep kissing you like this, I’m in.” Lexa smiled, secretly loving the way it felt to be Clarke’s girlfriend.   
“Hey, gross nerds making out behind the bleachers! It’s time for practice!” Octavia yelled from the field while Harper and Monroe laughed. Lexa hung her head and Clarke giggled.  
“I think they need their Commander out there, but I’ll text you after work. See you tomorrow babe.” Clarke gave Lexa one more kiss, before heading to her car. Lexa watched her go. Clarke’s movements were getting much smoother as she healed, but mostly Lexa couldn’t keep her eyes off of the tight jeans that Clarke was wearing.  
“Come on Lex, we gotta practice!” Octavia yelled again.  
“I’m coming!” Lexa yelled, heading towards the field.  
“You wish.” Octavia said under her breath.

The two games on Saturday started at 11am, but Lexa was on the field running drills by 9am. She was focused and pumped, not just to show off for Clarke. Lexa had not felt like her mind had been this clear months and she was ready to take on the world. Or at least take on the kids from the neighboring academy and their final game with Arkadia High.   
“Hey Raven.” Clarke said, sitting down next to her a little while before the game was going to start.  
“Hey, you excited to see your girlfriend play today?”  
“Yeah.” Clarke grinned. It had been fast, but her relationship with Lexa was going great and Clarke was excited for their official first date the next day.  
“Ugh, you and her smile so much now, it’s totally gross. Get married already.” Raven said, putting her casted leg up on the bleacher in front of her.  
“Oh shut up, it’s only been a few days. Our first date isn’t until tomorrow.”  
“It’s been 8 years in the making though.”  
“I always hoped, but I wasn’t sure life would ever bring us back together.”  
“Hey, it wasn’t just life, give me and O some credit here. Maybe Bell too. It’s really been a group effort here.” Raven said.  
“Fine, thank you Ray, you’re the most amazing mastermind I know.” Clarke put her arm around Raven’s shoulders and smiled at her. The bruises on her face were almost gone now.  
“I know.” Raven replied. They both watched as the teams came onto the field. Clarke noticed again the intense braids that each girl had, even the ones with shorter hair, like Maya, had braids around the crown of their heads. A few minutes later Jasper and Monty sat down behind them, quickly followed by Bellamy. Anya and Gustus sat down on the other side of them. A large group of the student body was also there, filling the bleachers. As soon as the game started, Clarke could tell that Lexa was really going for it. Every pass she made was perfect and they were crushing the other team. Their whole group cheered every time the team made a goal. Once, Lexa even blew a kiss to Clarke between plays. The game went by quickly and was over by 2pm. They only had a 2 hour break before the other game, but it was long enough for the girls to run into the dispersing crowd on the stands and hug their friends, before heading back for lunch and laying on the grass for a while.

“Oh gross! You’re all sweaty! Raven yelled as Octavia grabbed her for a hug.  
“And I came to share it with you between the games! Be grateful, Bellamy is next!” Octavia grinned, lunging for her brother who dodged a little too slowly.  
“Seriously O, so gross.” Bellamy said, holding his hands up while Octavia hung from his neck.  
“Hey Clarke, are you enjoying the game?” Lexa stood before her and Clarke just stared for a second. She had taken off her jersey and was just wearing a sports bra and shorts. There was sweat dripping down her chest and her abs. Clarke could clearly see the tattoos on Lexa’s arm and absently licked her lips. Lexa was so much more tan than she was and toned too.  
“Uh, yeah, it’s so awesome to see you guys out there.” Clarke said, smiling.  
“What she means is, you took off your shirt and now she is flustered.” Raven added, rubbing the sweat off her face from where Octavia hugged her. Anya was just watching them, while Gus and Bellamy had left to get some snacks.  
“You guys seem to be getting pretty close.” Anya remarked.  
“Annnd, that’s my cue to go see what Jasper and Monty are up to.” Raven said, getting up and making her way to the end of the bleachers on her crutches. Lexa sat down in front of Clarke and Anya scooted closer.  
“We reconciled our differences, to say the least.” Lexa said, reaching for Clarke’s hand.  
“Uh-huh, and?” Anya raised her eyebrow.  
“And, we might have a date tomorrow.” Lexa said and Anya turned to Clarke.  
“Remember what we talked about before? It still stands, so you better take good care of my little sister.”  
“I will do my very best Anya.” Clarke said, more bravely than she felt.  
“Okay, then I hope you losers have a nice date. Don’t knock her up Lex.” Anya grinned, scooting back to her spot on the bleachers just as Gus and Bellamy returned with the food. Monty and Jasper were close behind, but Raven and O had disappeared to somewhere else.  
“Well, that went better than I thought.” Clarke remarked, as Lexa grabbed some food.  
“I’m still wondering about what Anya meant by ‘talked about before’ though.” Lexa said.  
“Don’t worry about it.” Clarke smiled, accepting some of the food Bellamy handed her. 

Lexa looked at her skeptically, but decided to ask questions later. After lunch, the girls returned to the field for slow warm-ups and to go over their plays. Lexa waved to Clarke right before the game began. This game took longer than the second. Arkadia High was determined to make up for their last loss to Polis, but with Lexa as energized as she was, they had no chance. The whole team was on top of it, the earlier game had served as a practice for this game, and they excelled. This had been a great season for the Polis team, they had only lost one important game. This game was much closer, and for a few minutes into the second half, Arkadia had the upper hand, but that didn’t last. Lexa had put Tris in and the play that she executed with Octavia and Maya was all it took for them to gain the lead, and they never let it go. Clarke found herself cheering loudly as all the girls coalesced on the field to celebrate their win. They were jumping up and down and tackling each other. Everyone headed down to the field to congratulate the team and without hesitation Lexa threw herself at Clarke, kissing her on the lips in front of everyone. When they pulled apart, there were whistles from the team and Clarke looked shocked. Lexa just beamed through the sweat on her face until her uncle cleared his throat.  
“So, you girls seem to be getting along extra well.” Gus said smiling at an embarrassed Lexa.  
“Oops, I promise I was going to tell you soon?” Lexa was overly cocky from the win, and her confidence showed as she held onto Clarke’s waist in front of everyone.  
“We can talk about it later, right now let’s celebrate! That was an awesome win girls.” Gus said enthusiastically.  
“Yeah, that was awesome, Tris, you may surpass the Commander someday!” Raven teased and Tris looked concerned.  
“No way, I’ll never be that good.” Tris said, her cheeks pink from exertion or embarrassment.   
“Or as gay as her.” Octavia said, throwing an arm around Tris. Lexa stuck her tongue out and Octavia mimicked the gesture.   
“It was an exceptional game, guys, you work so well as a team.” Anya said, standing next to Gus.   
“Anya is right, I’ve never seen such smooth plays before from this team. I guess all those practices are paying off.” Bellamy added, standing close enough to Anya that their shoulders were touching. Octavia and Lexa both noticed and shared a knowing glance. 

“Well, should we all go out and celebrate, team style?” Lexa asked after all her teammates had greeted their friends and family.  
“The soda shop?!” Half the team shouted and Lexa nodded. She still hadn’t let Clarke out of her reach for more than the time it took her to shower and change. Anya and Gus had left, as well as Bellamy and the boys. They apparently had exciting Saturday night plans, which no one believed was true. Raven always hung around after games for their usual trip to get fries and milkshakes in town. They all loaded up and headed out. At the soda shop, they crammed into the two big booths in the back. Clarke had never been a part of this specific ritual, but the team didn’t seem to bat an eye at her or Raven’s presence among them.  
“So, do you guys always do this after a game?” Clarke asked, sipping on her strawberry shake.  
“Yep, the whole team does!” Raven chimed in from a few seats over. Clarke raised an eyebrow at Raven.  
“She’s an honorary member, we just call her our best cheerleader.” Octavia said, grabbing Raven’s onion rings.  
“Plus, she is crippled, we couldn’t just leave her.” Maya said, elbowing Raven a little.  
“Hey, I’ve only got 4-6 more weeks of this cast, then I’ll kick your butt!” Raven said and Clarke smiled. It felt really good to be a part of something that didn’t include having your ass kicked. She shifted a little, aware of the ache in her ribs from all the cheering.  
“You okay?” Lexa asked quietly and Clarke nodded.  
“Yeah, I’m just happy to be here with all of you.”  
“Well, we’re happy to have you here blondie.” Monroe said, tossing a french fry in Clarke’s direction. They stayed and talked until every milkshake was empty and all the snacks were just grease stains. They all departed, thoroughly exhausted by the games. When Lexa dropped off Clarke, they kissed goodnight.

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow, I’ll text you the exact time in the morning.” Lexa said and Clarke nodded.  
“See you then, goodnight Lex.”  
“Goodnight Clarke.”


	12. Chapter 12

Lexa knocked on Clarke’s door, butterflies bouncing around in her stomach. This was their first date and she wanted everything to be perfect. Clarke answered the door in a maroon dress, grey leggings and a jacket.  
“You look cute.” Lexa managed and Clarke smiled.   
“And you look hot.” Clarke responded, looking at Lexa’s leather jacket and tight jeans.   
“What’s the plan for our first date?” Clarke closed and locked her front door before following Lexa down to her car. Lexa held the door for Clarke before getting in and starting the car.  
“Well, I was thinking something simple. I noticed you like to paint and there is a pretty cool gallery that just opened up in town. It’s owned by one of Anya’s friends and it’s primarily paintings. How do you feel about that?” Clarke smiled at the tentativeness in Lexa’s voice. All her cocky bravado from the game was gone and it was just nervous nerdy, but also hot, Lexa.  
“That sounds great to me.”  
“Awesome. There is also a really nice cafe that is walking distance from the gallery. They have the best chocolate croissants and blueberry muffins in the entire galaxy.”  
“The entire galaxy?”  
“Yes, I would bet my life on it.”  
“Wow, they must be good. How did you know I like blueberry muffins?”  
“Clarke, everyone likes blueberry muffins.”  
“Uh-huh.”   
“Also, I might have overheard you telling Raven you wanted one at lunch the other day.”  
“There it is, you eavesdropper.” Clarke smiled playfully at Lexa.  
“Hey, I wouldn’t listen if I didn’t care.” Lexa glanced over at her and smiled back.  
“I guess that is fair.” Clarke said back. They turned on the radio and listened to some music and talked for the rest of the short ride into the downtown area. After Lexa parked, she led Clarke over to the gallery.

“So, fun fact,” Lexa said as they walked in, “Octavia has a raging crush on the guy who owns this place.”   
“How does she know him?” Clarke asked, starting to look around at the paintings hung on the white walls.  
“He is actually going to college with her brother and they’re friends too. I don’t think Anya has realized that he is friends with Bellamy yet.”  
“Wow, it’s true what they say about small towns, everyone knows everyone.” Clarke replied. They walked in silence for a little bit, each just admiring the paintings. Many of them were nature themed, filled with dark forests and blue skies.   
“These are really beautiful.” Clarke said, gesturing to a group of artworks that were charcoal and pastel pictures of forests and people.  
“Thank you, I worked very hard on them.” Came a man’s voice from behind them. Lexa and Clarke turned around, a wide grin spreading across Lexa’s face.  
“Hey Lincoln, it’s good to see you.” Lexa said, giving him a hug. He was a very serious looking guy, but Clarke could see that he was smiling and smiled back. When the hug ended, Lexa introduced Clarke.  
“Lincoln, this is my date, Clarke. Clarke, this is Anya’s old friend, Lincoln.”  
“It’s very nice to meet you.” Lincoln offered a strong hand and Clarke took it.  
“It’s nice to meet you too. So, these are your pieces?”  
“Yes they are, I couldn’t own a gallery without putting a little of my own art up in it.” Lincoln said and Clarke nodded.  
“I can understand that.” Clarke replied.  
“Oh? Are you an artist as well?” Lincoln seemed genuinely interested.  
“An aspiring one, I love to paint. And, much like your work, my tends to be nature heavy.”  
“Well Clarke, here is my card, if you have a decent portfolio, give me a call sometime and I’ll see if I can get some of your work up in here. I know my co-owner, Nyko, is always looking for fresh artists and I’m all for maintaining this nature scene.” Clarke took the business card, mouth agape.  
“Are you, are you serious about this?” Clarke asked and Lexa smiled at her. She had no idea this would happen, she wasn’t even sure Lincoln would be there, but it definitely made their date a little better.  
“Of course, I think every artist is just waiting for their chance and if I can, I want to give them that chance. So, let me know. Besides any cute girlfriend of Lexa’s is a friend of mine. Her and her sister are like family to me.”  
“Wow, thank you so much, I just, wow, this is amazing!” Clarke said, holding the business card in her slightly less bandaged hands. They were really healing well, and soon it wouldn’t hurt for her to return to painting. There was one painting in particular that she wanted to finish. At the moment, it was just a pair of green eyes staring back at her from the canvas.  
“Well, I should probably pay attention to some of the other patrons in here, but I’m glad you two stopped by. I feel like I haven’t seen Lexa in a while, but I think I see why.” Lincoln smiled and told them goodbye, walking over to greet some other people who had just come in. Clarke turned to Lexa and grinned.

“Holy shit Lex, did you plan this or something?” Lexa held up her hands in surrender.  
“Nope, I wasn’t even sure he would be here. That’s really awesome though, do you think you have some pieces for him?” Clarke nodded enthusiastically.  
“Yeah, I mean, I figured it would take me another 15 years before I could do anything with my art, so this is really amazing. Thank you Lex.”  
“Hey, all I did was bring you here. I’m glad it worked out so well though.” Lexa put her arm around Clarke’s shoulders and they explored the rest of the gallery for the next hour or so. Before they left, they said goodbye to Lincoln, and Clarke promised she would be in contact. Next they walked a few blocks down to the cafe Lexa loved.   
“It smells so good in here.” Clarke said and Lexa nodded. This was where she had first met Gus. She had been terrified of who she might be placed with next, and she had never even met her uncle before. 

 

She could remember sitting at one of the tables with the social worker, all of her belongings in a black trash bag in their car, just hoping that he was nothing like her last foster parents. She remembered it was around Thanksgiving, and the cafe was filled with paper leaves of all kinds and colors. The social worker had bought her a chocolate muffin and chocolate croissant because about all anyone could get out of Lexa was that she liked chocolate. She had spent the better part of their time waiting poking at the hole in the right knee of her jeans. It was from when Finn had pushed her off the monkey bars a few weeks before at recess. The scab on her knee was almost gone, but holes in clothes did not get better. In fact, the more she messed with it, the worse it got. By the time Gus had arrived, most of her little bony knee poked through the hole in her jeans. The temporary group home she had been in since DHS had removed her from Nia and Titus’ house was loud and hectic, there were constantly kids going in and out and lots of fights breaking out. It was miserable, so Lexa hoped and hoped until finally a large man with a big black beard walked through the door and looked her right in the eyes. Grownups never did that, but his eyes were soft and brown.

He had walked over and introduced himself to the social worker. When he took off his big coat, Lexa was mesmerized by the tattoos on his arms. She had seen tattoos before, but these were clean and tribal, snaking over his skin like they belonged there. He spoke with the social worker for a couple of moments before turning back to Lexa. When he cruoched in front of her chair, Lexa thought he still looked like a mountain, but his smile was friendly.  
“Hello Alexandria, I’m your uncle Gus. I know I haven’t been there for you up until now, but would you like to come and live with me? I have a nice house in town and you’ll have your own room that we can decorate however you want. Your half sister, Anya, will hopefully be coming to live with me soon too. What do you think?” Gus looked at her with hopeful eyes   
“Can I paint my room green?” Lexa asked quietly, looking down at her sneakers.  
“Of course, you can paint it whatever color you want. Anything else?”  
“Will you make me lunch every day so that the kids don’t make fun of me anymore?” Lexa asked and Gus glanced up at the social worker questioningly. He had just gotten back from overseas that week before, so he had not been fully informed about the details of where Lexa had been. He would find out quickly as soon as the case really got underway. Right now, the social worker just nodded.  
“Alexandria has had some trouble in the past with bullies at school.” She said stiffly.  
“Ah,” Gus said, turning back to Lexa. His more worrisome question had been left unanswered, but that was okay for now.  
“I promise I will make you lunch everyday. In fact, I heard you were in need of a few things since you had to leave your last home so suddenly, so I brought you this.” Gus turned and pulled a small leather backpack out of his own bag. He held it in front of Lexa. “I know it’s not bright colors and stuff like most backpacks these days, but it’s tough and it was made by a friend of mine. You don’t have to use it if you don’t like it, but I thought it might be good to have something durable.” He held it out to Lexa and she tentatively reached for it, her eyes searching Gus for any sign that this wasn’t really her’s, but he just nodded. She carefully picked up the leather backpack and held it. The material was soft and smooth. It was a dark brown that reminded her of tree trunks and it smelled like fancy leather jackets that some people wore. It had three pockets and buckles on the top flap to hold it in place. Lexa’s old backpack had almost worn through, the pink hearts pattern fading away into pale blobs. One of the straps had been broken for nearly a year, but this backpack had strong straps that would last. Lexa was pulled out of her examination by the social worker’s voice.

“So, Alexandria, do you want to go home with your uncle Gus today? We already have all of your stuff with us.” Lexa looked back up at the worker and then to Gus before nodding her head.  
“Awesome.” The social worker said without much enthusiasm as she stood up. Lexa hopped down from her chair and Gus stood up. She quickly grabbed her untouched chocolate muffin from her plate, carrying it as she followed the social worker out the door. In her other arm she clutched the backpack tightly against her chest. She finally had something nice that was her’s, and she wasn’t about to let it go. Outside, they had loaded her single trash bag of belongings into Gus’ truck and the adults had talked about some stuff for a few minutes, before Gus helped Lexa up into the truck as well. As they were driving off, Lexa turned to Gus.  
“You can call me Lexa, only my friends get to call me that.” Lexa had turned back in her seat to watch the stores and houses go by, so she didn’t notice the the unbearable softness seep into Gus’ expression. The next day they both went shopping, getting Lexa everything that she needed to have at Gus’ home. It took a few months, but Lexa adjusted to life with her uncle and soon her half sister had joined them as well. It was the beginning of the life Lexa had wanted all along.

 

“Yeah,” Lexa said a little absently, “I really love this place, it has a lot of good memories for me.” Clarke looked at her curiously, but Lexa decided that was a story for another time. They got in line and quickly ordered their snacks and some hot chocolates as well. Clarke chose a table by the window that was a polished cross-section of a huge tree.  
“This is so cool, I wonder if everyone who sits here counts the lines on the tree to see how old it was?” Clarke asked, running her fingers along the smooth surface.  
“Well, there are exactly 238 lines from the bark to the core, so it doesn’t take too long to count them.” Lexa grinned.  
“You must come here a lot, go on a lot of dates here?” Clarke asked.  
“You would think, what with how awesome I am, but not really. I come here mostly with Anya when we both have some time to spare.”   
“That sounds nice, I always wished I had siblings. The closest I have is the Blakes, which, don’t get me wrong, are great, but a real sibling would be different.” Clarke said, stirring her hot chocolate that had just been placed in front of her.  
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool to have Anya around, granted, sometimes she is a real pain in the ass, but so are the Blake siblings.” Clarke laughed and Lexa smiled. She could listen to that sound forever. 

They talked a little bit more about their families. Lexa learned that Clarke’s dad had passed away immediately after the accident and Clarke had lived with her maternal grandparents out of state while her mother recovered. She learned that in order to cope, her mom had basically moved into the hospital and thrown herself into her job. Their teacher, Dr. Kane, had once worked as a volunteer at Jaha Memorial where her mom worked, and had spent a lot of time with Clarke while she waited on her mom for hours on end. Lexa learned that Clarke was still interested in medicine, but desperately did not want to turn into her mother.   
Clarke learned that Lexa had moved in with Gus right before Clarke had been transferred and it had been nearly a year later when he got custody of Anya, who was already 14 by that point. She learned that Lexa had taken nearly as long to forgive Raven and Octavia, and another full year before they became very close friends. She learned that Lexa was hoping to continue playing soccer in college, but was also very interested in political science and law, similar to Anya. Before they knew it, all their hot chocolate was long gone and nothing but crumbs remained on their plates. 

Eventually they decided to head out, maybe walk along the main street and look at some of the shops if it wasn’t too cold. As they were leaving, Lexa opened the door and nearly walked right into someone.  
“Oops, I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you.” She quickly apologized, Clarke bumping into her back at the abrupt stop.  
“Oh no, it’s okay, don’t worry about it.” Said the older woman with medium length, wavy brown hair. There was something familiar about her that Lexa couldn’t quite place until Clarke stepped out from behind her.  
“Clarke?” The woman said and Clarke stared at her like a deer caught in the headlights.  
“Mom?” Clarke practically whispered.  
“Shit.” Lexa said under her breath, while the two women just stood in front of the cafe and stared at each other.


	13. Chapter 13

“Clarke, I have been calling you for three months now, why haven’t you called me back? Or at least sent me a text? You can’t just move out and transfer schools without anything more than leaving me that vague note. You could have been dead for all I knew! And after your old friends came in with those injuries, how could you do this Clarke?”  
“I didn’t think you would even notice mom. I mean, you’re never home anyway, so why should I be stuck there too? We needed some space, so I got some space between us.”  
“Not notice? You’re my daughter, of course I’m going to notice if you go goddamn missing on me!” You’re lucky I didn’t call the police!” Abby was yelling now and Lexa could see Clarke’s face getting redder as she got angrier.  
“Calm down mom, you obviously didn’t look very hard, it’s easy to call around to the local high schools and find a student. I know you’re actually glad to be rid of me for a while. Makes it so much easier to blame me for dad’s death if I’m not there to argue about it.” There was a venom in Clarke’s voice that Lexa had not ever heard, even when Clarke was bullying her so many years ago. Her jaw was clenched tight, but her face remained expressionless. Her mom looked totally shocked.

“How dare you say that! I raised you to be better than that. I worked my ass off for you!” Abby was redder than Clarke and Lexa took a step back.  
“No, you worked your ass off for you. You hid from me for years, mom. You left me with grandma for a long time after you recovered. Why didn’t you come get me? I was 11 by the time you got me out of there!”  
“Clarke, I wasn’t well enough to get you any sooner!”  
“Bullshit!” Lexa could see tears forming in the corners of Clarke’s eyes, but Abby’s anger was fizzling out into what looked like resigned guilt and just straight up exhaustion. She burned out quick, Lexa thought. She wanted to comfort Clarke, but felt like if she moved, they might notice she was there.  
“That’s bullshit, and you know it! I’m not an idiot mom, I grew up in that hospital. I know more than half of your brainless interns, so I know that’s some bullshit. You just couldn’t face me, your child. That’s pathetic mom.” Clarke turned on her heel, ready to leave, but her mom spoke again and she stopped.  
“Clarke, wait. You don’t understand, it was really hard to lose your father. He was the love of my life and I couldn’t save him.” Clarke marched back toward her mother and stoof in front of her.  
“And you don’t think it was hard on me? I was 8 mom, 8. I lost both my parents and all my friends all at once. Don’t you think it would have helped to have a mom who cared? Don’t you think we could have comforted each other? Instead, you just ditched me with grandma for 3 fucking years. Why do you suddenly want me around now?”  
“Because you’re my daughter.” Abby said, almost pleadingly.  
“Not good enough.” Clarke replied harshly.  
“Look Clarke, I made a lot of mistakes in the past. We all have--”  
“Excuse you, what exactly are you referring to?” Clarke interrupted.  
“Just, was that little girl’s life really worth Jake’s? I know you don’t regret helping her, you never did. But every day I think of what our lives could have been like if you hadn’t told anyone. Was her life worth losing his?”  
“I don’t know mom, why don’t you ask her?” Clarke stepped slightly to the side and gestured to Lexa, who had been standing a few steps away in silence for their entire conversation. Now, she stepped forward and held up her hand in a small wave.

“Hi Mrs. Griffin.” Lexa said as cheerily as she could. Abby’s eyes bugged out a little and her mouth fell slightly open for a second.  
“Mom, meet my date, Alexandria Woods.” There was an awkward silence filled only by the chilly wind blowing through.  
“Hi Alexandria, I’m so sorry you had to witness this spat between us.”  
“That’s okay, I’m sorry about your husband. I honestly was unaware of all of this until very recently. I had no idea of the impact my life has had on your’s.” Lexa said politely, starting to wonder why Clarke didn’t resent her more for just existing.  
“It’s not your fault honey, you were just a child.” Abby said graciously.  
“Well, it’s no more Clarke’s fault than it is my own. It was just a bad situation and set of events. But, I am forever grateful for what your daughter did for me. I wouldn’t have lasted much longer where I was, and her speaking up saved me and lots of other children from suffering at their hands.” Lexa said in her strongest, most even voice. Abby just stared back at her for a few seconds.

“See mom? Lexa is an amazing person, she is Captain of the Polis High soccer team, her grades are basically perfect, she is caring and passionate. She loves her family and friends fiercely. Someday she is going to make the world a better place. She deserved a chance to flourish. Sure, dad didn’t deserve to die, but Lexa deserved a life.”  
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry Clarke.” Abby turned back towards Clarke and Lexa said nothing, just thinking about all the things Clarke had just said about her. “I know I made some bad decisions that affected you, but I don’t blame you, either of you, for Jake’s death. I just wish it had not happened.”  
“I do too, mom. But, he has been gone for 8 years, it’s time to move forward.” Clarke said softly.  
“Okay. I’ll give you some space then, but please just let me know once or twice a week that you’re okay? I need to know you’re not living in a box or something, and that you’re doing well.” Abby pleaded and Clarke nodded.  
“Fine, I’ll keep in contact and we can work on all of this slowly. And I’m not living in a box, I have a job and an apartment.”  
“I can verify that.” Lexa added and Abby nodded at her.  
“Maybe you girls could come for dinner sometime? I promise it won’t be quite this tense.” Abby offered and Lexa nodded, looking to Clarke who seemed a little unnerved by the idea. “I would like to see you again soon honey.” Abby added.  
“Well, the final game of the soccer season is next weekend, the day before Halloween. Maybe you should come check it out? Clarke always comes and you could check on Raven’s cast too.” Lexa suggested, hoping that some more mutual ground could be found there.  
“I would love to come, thank you Lexa. Clarke seems to think highly of your playing, so I would like to see that.”  
“Awesome, then we will see you there. The game starts at 4pm, but I would get there a little early if you want a decent seat.” Lexa said.  
“Okay, I’ll let you two get back to your date now. I’m sorry it was so rudely interrupted, hopefully in the future we can speak on more calm and congenial terms.” Abby nodded to Lexa, who returned it with a polite smile.  
“That would be nice.” Lexa said. Then Abby turned to Clarke.  
“I’m sorry Clarke, I did not mean to fuss so much, I’ve just been so worried about you. I know I’ve made some mistakes, but I do truly want to start mending our relationship. I know we can work through this. I’ll take time off from work if I need to for you to believe me.”  
“Okay mom, I’m sorry I disappeared on you, I promise I’ll be more in contact.”  
“Thank you honey, I hope you enjoy the rest of your date.” They sort of hugged awkwardly and then Abby headed into the cafe. Clarke stood there for a few seconds.

“Hey, you okay?” Lexa asked, reaching her hand out to Clarke who took it and held it tightly.  
“Yeah, I’m okay, just not what I expected for our first date.” Lexa smiled.  
“Well, at least it’ll be unforgettable, right? Not exactly what I had planned either, but shit happens. And hey, I’ve already gotten meeting the parents over with.” Lexa smiled and Clarke laughed a little.  
“True, and I guess it could have gone worse for you. She was at least polite to you.”  
“I mean, I am pretty charming, right?” Lexa grinned.  
“Don’t get cocky, I’ll take back all those nice things I said about you.” Clarke threatened playfully.  
“Ouch, that’s cruel.” Lexa said jokingly and Clarke rolled her eyes. Inside the cafe, Abby watched as they walked away, hand in hand. It had been a few months now since she had seen Clarke, but it had been years since she had seen Clarke smile like that with anyone. It really made her think. Lexa and Clarke continued on their walk around town until it was about 3pm and their noses and hands were getting a little cold.

“Don’t worry, the cold feels nice on my knuckles.” Clarke said, flexing her fingers a little bit. She had minimally bandaged her hands since they were almost healed now. Only some scabs and fading bruises were left. Mostly, Clarke just didn’t want to risk reopening a scab while they were still soft.  
“Well, my hands do not appreciate the cold.” Lexa said, rubbing her hands together. “But I am glad your’s are healing up nicely. How is your rib doing?”  
“The skin is mostly healed, just a few scabs and pink skin. The rib is still a bit painful to put pressure on, but it doesn’t hurt to breathe or laugh very much now.” Clarke reported.  
“That’s good, sounds like it must have been a pretty small fracture if it’s healing this quickly. Granted, my knowledge of anything medical or biological is pretty limited.” Lexa confessed.  
“It probably was a small fracture. I don’t think that girl swung at full-force anyway.” Clarke said absently.  
“Really? Why not?” Lexa asked curiously.  
“Well, generally speaking with gang-related stuff, you don’t hit to kill, just hurt. Gangs that murder people are a whole different class of gangs. High school gangs, especially all girl gangs, tend to be brutal, but we’re not murderers by any means. If she had swung at full force, she could have killed me. But they weren’t there for murder, just trying to make a point.”  
“Uh-huh, and what kind of point was it?” Lexa asked.  
“I think it was ‘don’t fucking ditch your gang or you’re gonna get your ass beat,’ or something along those lines.” Clarke said.  
“Well, they certainly caused some pain, but it looked like they incurred more injuries on themselves than on you.”  
“True. Bellamy said he saw Ontari recently and her nose was definitely broken. One of the other girls hasn’t been back to the school since. I feel kind of bad about it, but they really shouldn’t have been there.” Clarke said and Lexa thought back to the fight. She had landed a few good hits, and Octavia and Raven both threw some nice punches, but Clarke had really laid into them.  
“Yeah, that’s crazy.” Lexa said.  
“Sorry again that you got involved. I think I’ve apologized to Raven a billion times now.”  
“I’m sure she isn’t mad, they’re pretty forgiving friends. Besides, it wasn’t really all your fault. They showed up there of their own accord.”  
“I guess you’re right.” They walked a little bit more, before heading to the car. They both had homework to do before Monday and needed to head home. They got in and rode in silcne for a few minutes.  
“You know I don’t believe I traded his life for your’s, right? I don’t blame you at all.” Clarke said quietly, staring blankly out the windshield. Lexa reached over with her spare hand and gave Clarke’s hand a gentle squeeze.  
“I know Clarke, but I’m still sorry that’s how it worked out.”  
“If I could go back I would do the exact same thing all over again. Except for bullying you , of course. I didn’t like the idea of someone actually hurting you, especially an adult. Adults are supposed to protect children.” 

 

Clarke thought back to that day in the 2nd grade.   
She had gone back to her seat when Mrs. Indra had told her to, but she just couldn’t concentrate on her work. She knew she wasn’t the only one who was mean to Lexa, but she had never seen another student do more than shove her or make fun of her. The bruises that Clarke had seen looked like boot prints from the kind of boots that her dad wore to work sometimes. Clarke had never really thought about it before, but now she wondered about Lexa’s parents. During their parent’s day that year, no one had come for Lexa and Clarke had assumed that her parents were just working or busy. Now, she began to put the pieces together. Clarke quickly got her notebook out of her desk and began to write out what she could. Her cursive was sloppy and slanted, but she did her best. She wrote:  
Too big bruises, look like footprints  
No parents at parent’s day  
Clothes that are old and dirty  
Holes in stuff  
Broken backpack  
Never has lunch  
Scared

The last note was more of an afterthought after what she had just seen. Clarke realized that she didn’t really know anything about Lexa at all. She had never asked and Lexa never said anything about herself if she wasn’t forced to. In fact, Lexa rarely said anything at all. Clarke stared hard at the back of Lexa’s head, willing her to turn around and look at her so she could ask her questions. But for some reason Lexa never got the message and stayed hunched over her desk, diligently doing her work. Every once in awhile she would use one finger to push her too big glasses back up her tiny nose. When it was time for lunch, Clarke got in line as usual for the count and walked with her class to the lunchroom, but before she sat down, she told Mrs. Indra that she had forgotten something in the classroom. It wasn’t far, so Mrs. Indra let her go back in.   
Clarke carefully walked over to the desk that Lexa usually sat in. Her backpack was hanging on the hook on the side, just like everyone else’s. Clarke had noticed that one of the straps was broken, but after a while she had just assumed that was normal as kids seem to do. She took the faded backpack off the hook and laid it on the floor, then she reached up to her hair and pulled out the soft blue ribbon. The bow had been squashed, so she untied it and rubbed the silk between her fingers. The ribbon, along with a red one, a green one, and a purple one, had been a gift from her father for her 8th birthday. The blue one was her favorite because it matched her eyes. She straightened it out on the floor next to the backpack and tried to figure out what to do next. 

She wanted to do something nice for Lexa, something to make her feel better. Clarke had no clue how to apologize and was scared that Lexa would be mad at her, so instead she wanted to try and fix her backpack strap. She tried to tie the ribbon to the strap and the broken part, but she couldn’t get it to stay. She looked around the classroom for anything else she could use, but she figured glitter glue wouldn’t hold very well. Eventually, she got the ribbon tied tightly to the strap, but there wasn’t enough ribbon left to tie it to the backpack. Frustrated, she decided to just untie the ribbon. She would think of something different to help Lexa. Once the ribbon was untied, she went a dug through her own backpack. She kept a few special things in there like her favorite marble, some extra art supplies and things she found.   
She dug out a rock that she had found that had a chunk of pyrite in it. The pirate was a smooth, tiny square sticking out of the blue-grey gravel. She had found it in Octavia’s driveway a few weeks before and the girls had fought over who got to keep it since Clarke had found it, but it was in Octavia’s driveway. Eventually Clarke had ended up keeping it. Her mom had told her it wasn’t gold, but Clarke was still hoping it was valuable. Carefully, she wrapped up the small rock in her blue ribbon and then returned to Lexa’s backpack. She opened up the smaller compartment and stuffed the ribbon and rock in. Maybe Lexa could use it to run away from whatever was hurting her. Or maybe it would be good luck. Clarke just hoped it helped her. Then she hung her backpack back up and ran back to the cafeteria.

For the rest of the day, she watched Lexa like a hawk. She watched as Lexa picked at her small lunch. It looked like she just had a baggie of pretzels and an apple. She watched her sit back at her desk after lunch, and noticed that she sat down gingerly, like it hurt her some. She noticed that most of Lexa’s pencils were short and had been sharpened repeatedly. She noticed that Lexa’s green eyes matched the green ribbon that she had at home. She noticed that when Mrs. Indra was talking to them about their punishment for the incident earlier, Lexa squirmed a lot more than the others did.   
She also noticed that Lexa was adorable underneath it all. She always tried to braid her hair, but strands of it always came out of the braid and got in her face no matter what she did. Every time Mrs. Indra said something nice about her work, Lexa would smile enough to show her missing teeth. Clarke had always wanted to be her friend, but this was a different feeling that she didn’t understand. She just wanted to learn more about Lexa.   
After school ended, Clarke waited for all the other students to run out of the room to the bus line or the car line. Clarke usually rode the bus, except on special occasions. But today, she had a more important mission. She walked up to Mrs. Indra’s desk, clutching the hem of her pink shirt too tightly.

“Mrs. Indra, I need to talk to you.” Clarke said as confidently as she could. She had heard adults say that to each other when they were talking about important things that she didn’t understand. And this felt like one of those things. Mrs. Indra looked up from the paperwork on her desk.  
“Clarke, can it wait? You’re going to miss your bus if you don’t hurry.” Mrs. Indra said, but Clarke shook her head so hard her curls bounced into her face.  
“No, it’s very important.” Clarke said and Mrs. Indra sighed, but pulled a chair up next to her desk for Clarke to climb into. Once she was settled and facing Mrs. Indra, Clarke had trouble getting her words out and fidgeted in the seat nervously.   
“So, what is so important it couldn’t wait Clarke?” Mrs. Indra prompted.  
“Uhm, it’s about Lexa, I mean Alexandria.” Clarke mumbled.  
“What about her? Is it about the incident today?”  
“No, well, yes, but not exactly about that. Sorta.”  
“Honey, take a deep breath and start from the beginning, okay?” Clarke nodded, taking a deep breath and then bursting into tears. Mrs. Indra looked surprised for a moment, but quickly tried to comfort her.  
“Hey, hey, it’s okay Clarke, It’s okay, calm down. You can tell me anything, alright? I’m not going to be mad at you, I promise. What’s got you so upset?”  
“I, I, I’m sc-scared.” Clarke managed between hiccuping sobs.  
“What are you scared of Clarke? Did someone hurt you?” Clarke shook her head, rubbing her eyes and trying to stop crying.  
“L-Lexa.” She said.  
“Did Lexa hurt you?” Mrs. Indra asked incredulously. Clarke shook her head again. “So, what did happen and what does Lexa have to do with it?” She asked again. After a few more minutes Clarke managed to get her sobbing down to just crying and spoke again.  
“I’m scared for Lexa.” She said and Mrs. Indra’s eyes widened.  
“Why are you scared for her? Is this about the bullying?”  
“No, someone big is bullying her worse and I’m scared.”  
“What do you mean someone big?” Mrs. Indra asked, dreading the answer.  
“Today, when Finn pushed her down I saw a bunch of bruises under her shirt. They look like the boots that my daddy sometimes wears to work. They were really big and there are lots of them!” Clarke blurted out.  
“Are you sure they weren’t from other kids?” Mrs. Indra knew the answer, but she had to ask. Clarke shook her head again.  
“No, they were too big and too purple. Plus, I made a list.” Clarke jumped down and ran to her desk to get her notebook. She showed the list to Mrs. Indra proudly. “See? It all adds up to something really bad. You’ve got to help her Mrs. Indra, I don’t know what to do.” Mrs. Indra looked from the list back to Clarke. Her blue eyes were pleading, the tear tracks on her apple cheeks just beginning to dry. She had noticed that Clarke was always paying attention to Lexa, but she hadn’t expected this level of compassion from her.  
“Clarke, you realize that this is very important, right?” Clarke nodded so hard her loose curls bounced.  
“Yes ma’am, I think. I just wanna help Lexa, she is good and deserves good.”  
“Okay, then I need to make a few phone calls, can you sit and be patient for a little while?” Clarke nodded again. “Okay, why don’t you go sit on the beanbag and read some of the new books on the shelf?”  
“Okay, thank you for helping Mrs. Indra!” Clarke smiled and went over to the bookcase. She took a few books off the shelf and sat down on the big bean bag. Mrs. Indra watched her for a moment, before picking up the phone.”

 

“I’m sorry your mom wasn’t there for you, Clarke. You deserve better than that.” Lexa’s voice brought Clarke back from her memories.  
“It’s okay, maybe now we can finally begin to move forward a little bit.”  
“I hope so.” Lexa said earnestly. The rest of the car ride was mostly quiet. When Lexa dropped Clarke off at her apartment, they kissed goodbye and promised to text each other and complain about their homework. When Lexa got home she already had a message from Clarke.

[Clarke 4:53pm]: Thank you for the wonderful first date Lexa, even if my mom rudely interrupted up, it was the best date I have ever been on.” Lexa grinned and texted her back.  
[Lexa 5:12pm]: I’m glad you had a good time, it was the best date I’ve ever been on too. Do you think there are more in my future?”  
[Clarke 5:14pm]: Yes please, I’ll plan the next one.  
[Lexa 5:15pm]: I can’t wait! Now, what did you get on the bio homework?”


	14. Chapter 14

“So, what’s the plan for Halloween this year?” Lexa asked, walking through the hall to the lunchroom with Raven and Octavia. It was Tuesday and most of Monday had been spent with them grilling Lexa and Clarke about their date. Luckily today, that was old news.  
“Well, since the world is lame and we’re apparently ‘too old’ for trick-or-treating, there is always a party at Bellamy’s, right O?” Raven responded.  
“Yeah, he always throws a Halloween rager in his apartment near the college campus. It gets pretty crazy there.”  
“I still don’t see why we can’t just dress up as shitty preteens and go trick-or-treating.” Raven said dejectedly.  
“Because we’re too old. Besides, you shouldn’t be walking that much until your cast comes off, and that is still a few weeks away.” Lexa said, scanning the lunchroom for an empty table.

“Hey, I’m not some useless cripple, you know!” Raven protested. She was making her way around much better on her crutches now than she had at the beginning.  
“We know Ray, but we’re just trying to make sure you don’t get stuck in that cast for a longer time because you slowed down the healing process by being an idiot.” Octavia said, sitting down next to Lexa at an empty table.  
“Excuse you, I’m a genius.” Raven plopped down dramatically across from them.  
“Yes, but sometimes you’re awful dumb for being such a smart person.” Clarke said, sitting down on the other side of Lexa.  
“Hey, how did your talk with the Mr. Roan go?” Lexa asked.  
“It went fine, it looks like I’ll be transferring out of your math class O, I’m sorry.” Octavia stuck out her bottom lip.  
“Man, now I’m the only one in the dumb math class.” Octavia pouted.  
“Don’t worry, I’ll tutor you if you want.” Clarke offered in consolation and Octavia quickly agreed. “Now, what conversation did I interrupt?”  
“We were just talking about Halloween plans. Since it falls on a Sunday this year, we can actually party some, but probably shouldn’t stay out super late.” Lexa said.  
“Are you kidding? I bet attendance on Monday will be under 50%.” Raven said, opening up her tupperware of spaghetti.  
“Yeah, that doesn’t justify us skipping though.” Lexa said and Clarke nodded.  
“Ugh, you two are gross. Being all coupley and backing each other up and shit. You two are nerds.” Raven complained.  
“Says the rocket scientist.” Octavia said under her breath.  
“Yeah, well, at least I’m not as nerdy as tweedle dee and tweedle dum over here.” Raven pointed to Jasper and Monty, who were just sitting down next to her at the table.  
“Hey, we resent that, unless I’m tweedle dee and he’s tweedle dum, in which case, thank you.” Jasper said, pointing to Monty.  
“Jas, we all know you’re tweedle dum in this situation.” Monty said, pulling out his lunch.  
“Why do I always have to be tweedle dum?” Jasper whined.  
“Because you’re the one who accidentally gave a teacher pot brownies last year because you had eaten one too many of them before class!” Octavia said laughing.  
“Is that what you guys are going to be for Halloween? Tweedle dee and tweedle dum?” Clarke asked jokingly.  
“That depends, what are we doing for Halloween?” Monty asked.  
“Not trick-or-treating.” Raven mumbled crossing her arms.  
“My brother is having his annual Halloween bash and he said I could invite whoever I wanted, what do you guys think?”  
“Ooo, college girls on Halloween? That means it’s going to be a bunch of drunk girls who are waaaaay out of my league, but might still make out with me anyway.” Jasper said and Lexa raised her eyebrow at him.

“What about Maya you disgusting pig.” Octavia asked casually, taking a bite of her sandwich.  
“I can’t tell if she really likes me.” Jasper said. He had been asking Maya out for a few months, but she had yet to say yes. She was more focused on soccer and her schoolwork, than on boys.  
“I can relate, I’m not sure I like you very much either.” Raven said, through a mouthful of spaghetti.  
“Does this mean you guys are in for the party?” Octavia asked and both boys nodded. “Cool, I’ll tell Bell that we’re coming. I invited the team too, not sure about everyone though.”  
“Should we dress up, or…?” Clarke asked.  
“You can, but it isn’t required.” Octavia replied. The rest of their lunch was spent talking about either Halloween plans or the upcoming game. Lexa didn’t get much time with Clarke that week, practice was long and hard, and Clarke worked most evenings after school anyway. They still texted relentlessly though, enough so that every time her phone went off, Lexa felt butterflies in her stomach. Saturday arrived quickly and the big game loomed ahead of them.

The final game was against TonDC, their rival team. TonDC had just beaten Arkadia, so now it was just them and Polis High left in the season. Lexa was pumped, but for once, she was also nervous. Not because of the game, but because she had invited Clarke’s mom to the game. The stands were packed 20 minutes before the game even started and it took Lexa a few minutes to find her friends. There was Gus and Anya, sitting near Bellamy. Raven was right above them with Clarke and what looked like Abby. Lexa breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Abby had come and they looked like they were talking comfortable.

“Lex, get your head out of the stands!” Octavia yelled, bouncing a soccer ball off of her back. “Quit staring at your girl, this is our season and we need you in it!”  
“Seriously, this is our last game this season, and the last one was a little too close for comfort.” Maya added.  
“You guys worry too much.” Lexa threw the ball back to Octavia and joined her team at the benches. They had already been on the field for a while going over some plays and ideas. “We’ve got this, I know it.”  
“There’s our Commander.” Emori said with a smile.  
“Who’s ready to kick some serious ass?” Octavia asked with a grin.  
“Hell yeah!” They all yelled. The game started off at full throttle, neither team was messing around. Both teams had their plays worked out to perfection and at halftime the score was still 0-0. From up in the stands, Clarke was on the edge of her seat.  
“You seem very invested in this game sweetie.” Abby remarked. Raven had gone to get snacks with Anya and the boys were occupied with something else.  
“Yeah, they’re a really great team. Lexa is an amazing captain. They barely even see their coach, this is all Lexa’s plays and training. I usually watch the practices if I don’t have work, and they really put their all into the games.” Clarke said, watching Lexa talking with the team. Lexa really was a great leader, or Commander, as they called her, and Clarke wondered what her future would hold.  
“That’s mighty high praise, you really like this girl, don’t you?” Abby asked and Clarke turned back to her.  
“I really do. I always did, I just didn’t figure it out until I thought it was too late. She is one of a kind.”  
“So are you, honey.” Abby took a deep breath. “I never meant to put all that guilt that I felt onto you. You actually did a really amazing thing helping Lexa, and it looks like it paid off too. I’m very proud of you and I hope you can forgive me for having so much trouble adjusting. I know this is long overdue, but I’m sorry Clarke. If you ever want to come home, you are welcome to. If not, that’s okay too. I just want to support my daughter however I can.” Abby finished with tears in the corners of her eyes and Clarke reached forward and gave her a hug.  
“We’ll work it out, okay mom? It’s going to take time and improved communication on both of our parts, but we will work it out.” Abby nodded, wiping the corners of her eyes and smiling. It was a start. Back on the field, Lexa was talking to her team by the water coolers.  
“Alright guys, you’re doing great out there, but so are they. You know what that means?”  
“It means we gotta do better than great.” Tris said, wiping some dirt off her knees.  
“Exactly, Tris is right, they brought their A game, so we have to bring our A+ game. There are a few holes in their defenses that I noticed. Keep an eye on Echo, her passing is selfish, she hogs the ball when she should pass it sometimes. And number 17 has less than perfect aim with her long-distance kicks. I know it isn’t much, but if we try to combine our plays, I think they won’t know what hit them!”  
“Yeah, we just gotta get that ball away from Echo and punch a decent hole in their defense. I can run the fastest, so I’ll run the field, O, you have the best accuracy, stay near the goal if you can.” Monroe said.  
“Good, Tris and I will get that ball away from Echo, she’ll expect me to go for it, but not Tris. And Tris is small and agile, she can do it. I’ll try and get the ball down the field as far as I can, but scoring is up to Harper and Octavia. Maya, you’re on their defense. Think we can pull it off? One goal should be enough to win this game as long as we stay strong out there.”  
“We can do it.” Octavia confirmed and they all grinned at each other. 

As the second half started, getting the ball away from Echo proved harder than they thought. After their third try, Lexa switched tactics, making sure Tris hung back more. There wasn’t much time left in the game when they finally managed to get the ball and Lexa kicked it as hard as she could down the field. Harper chested it, and sent it to Octavia, who did not hesitate. The ball whizzed past the diving goalie and into the net. Cheers from the stands were deafening and the team was thrilled. This was the turn in the game, not TonDC became more desperate and more aggressive, but it only earned them fouls and lost them the ball enough times for Lexa to score again. Echo was livid, and right before the game ended she kicked the ball hard enough that it slipped through their goalie’s hands and she scored. It wasn’t enough, and when the final whistle blew, Polis High was the district’s season champions. As soon as the game was over, the people in the stands flowed out onto the field.

Lexa knew she was covered in dirt and sweat, but she didn’t care. She ran over to the sidelines and grabbed Clarke. She lifted her up and spun around with her for a few seconds. Her friends and family all surrounded her and the team, cheering them on, even Abby looked pleased. She kissed Clarke hard and Clarke kissed her back just as hard. This was amazing, this was what Lexa wanted. She looked around into all the smiling faces, seeing her team jumping around and greeting everyone was amazing. This was where Lexa wanted to be.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter y'all! It has been a fun ride and I have really enjoyed writing this fic. I hope everyone has enjoyed reading it as well!

Another 8 Years Later

“Babe, have you seen the boxes with all the towels in them?” Clarke yelled from a half-unpacked bathroom.  
“Hang on a sec!” Lexa yelled back, going through some of the partially labeled boxes in the living room. Once she found the right box, she grabbed some of the towels and headed upstairs to the master bathroom where Clarke had just finished her shower. Clarke had opened the sliding glass door to their shower and was waiting for a towel.

“I found the towels, but it’s going to cost you.” Lexa teased, holding the towel just out of Clarke’s reach.  
“Come on, we’re going to be late for the wedding, and a bridesmaid is supposed to be early, not late!” Clarke fussed, but Lexa just smiled.  
“Yeah well, It’s their fault for planning the wedding for the day after we moved in here.”  
“Uhm, I think they have been planning the wedding longer than we were planning to move the day before it. This one might be on us.”  
“Really? Are you sure we can’t blame them?”  
“Sadly, now give me the towel!” Clarke motioned to the towel, but Lexa didn’t budge.  
“God, you’re so beautiful Clarke, will you marry me?”  
“Lex, I already said yes, towel please?” Clarke stuck out her bottom lip at Lexa, who rolled her eyes, but gave in, handing her naked fiance the fluffy blue towel.  
“Thank you. Now, we really have to start getting ready.” Clarke said, drying off while Lexa just stared at her.  
“Are you sure we don’t have a little time, just a few minutes for some fun, before we throw ourselves into this vortex of a wedding?” Lexa pleaded.  
“Nope, no extra time, we start that and I’ll actually be late. And if I’m late, who is going to keep Raven from setting up illegal fireworks while Octavia is busy freaking out about whether Lincoln’s tie will clash with the flowers or not? We need to get ready.”

“Fine,” Lexa hung her head. “But, in order to get ready, I’ll have to take off all my clothes first and get a shower myself, since someone didn’t even invite me in!”  
“Not my fault, you were still out on your jog when I got in.” Clarke said, ignoring Lexa as she brushed her hair in front of the mirror. She had just gotten her hair trimmed for the wedding, and it came to just below her shoulders. Lexa slowly took her long hair out of its ponytail and shook her head a little.  
“Fine, I’ll just shower alone. All alone. Just me, myself and I.” Lexa said dejectedly.  
“Yep, have fun in there, but not too much fun.” Clarke walked back into the bedroom and Lexa sighed. She watched Clarke rummage through some of their half-unpacked luggage for underwear and a bra. Clarke had only gotten more beautiful and Lexa was so happy that she was a part of her life.  
“Last chance Clarke!” Lexa called and Clarke just laughed.  
“Don’t take too long, it’s almost 9 and we need to be there by 11 at the latest.” Clarke called over her shoulder. 

Lexa gave up and got in the shower, letting the hot water pour over her body. College soccer had toned and tanned her even more, and while she was in grad school she had taken up martial arts at a local gym to stay in shape. She had ended up choosing a career in political science over soccer, but still played pick-up games when Octavia and some of the other girls weren’t busy. Monroe had returned from a tour in Iraq a few weeks ago and Tris had just graduated from college, so they were both around.  
“Have you heard from Monty yet?” Lexa asked Clarke.  
“Yeah, he left MIT this morning. He said he was going to finally bring his boyfriend to meet us at the wedding.” Clarke said.  
“Well, I’m sure Jasper and Maya will be excited to see him, it’s been months since his last visit.” Lexa said, thinking about the last time she had seen them all.  
“True, Jasper has definitely been missing Monty, but we all have been.” Lexa continued her shower, listening to Clarke humming in the bedroom. 

She knew Clarke was in there laying out their clothes for the wedding on the bed. When they had finally gotten everything unloaded and in the house the night before, with the help of Bellamy, Anya, Raven, and even Abby and Marcus, it had been nearly 2am and the only thing they had unpacked was enough bedding to crawl into bed and pass out. The rest of the small two-story house was a maze of boxes. Regardless, it made Lexa giddy to think that this was their home. Until now, it had been just dorms and tiny apartments, but Clarke had finally finished medical school that spring and they had decided it was time to really get their own place.  
Clarke had already gotten a residency at Jaha Memorial and was halfway through it and excelling. All those years of spending time in the hospital had really paid off. During her downtime, she still painted and often exhibited her art at some of the local galleries. Lincoln had stayed true to his word, and he and Nyko had kept some of Clarke’s paintings up consistently for the past 7 years. Lexa was proud of her; she had loved being there to watch Clarke grow over the past 8 years. Her painting was so refined now it looked professional and she could recite every medical term and definition in existence. Lexa enjoyed thinking about everything they had been through and what was yet to come. She was pulled out of her reverie by Clarke’s voice.

“Hey Lex, what’s in this shoebox here? The one with ‘DO NOT TOUCH ANYA’ and ‘KEEP OUT ANYA’ written all over it?” Clarke yelled to Lexa, who was still in the shower.  
“Oh, that? It’s just all the little treasures I kept when I was a kid. Probably just a bunch of junk now, but when I was little those things were special.” Lexa said.  
“Can I look at it? I promise I’m not Anya.” Clarke called back.  
“Sure, have at it.” Lexa replied, turning off the shower. Clarke sat down on the edge of the bed and opened up the box. Inside was an odd assortment of things. There was a small, plastic stegosaurus that had most of the paint rubbed off, a matchbox dump truck missing a wheel, a handful of polished colorful rocks, a sharkstooth and some shells, and a broken rainbow bead bracelet. In one corner of the box, something blue caught Clarke’s eye. She carefully picked it up and her breath caught in her throat. It was an old and faded blue silk ribbon. It was frayed at one end and wrapped around something heavy. Very carefully, she unwrapped it, already pretty sure she knew what it was. Inside the blue ribbon was a small piece of blue-grey gravel that tumbled into Clarke’s palm. Stuck in the side of the gravel was a single cube of smooth pyrite. Clarke just stared at it, the gravel in one hand and the ribbon in her other.  
Meanwhile, Lexa had gotten out of the shower and was drying off, when she looked over to see Clarke staring down at her hands.

“You okay babe?” She asked, walking over to sit next to Clarke on the bed. Clarke was still only wearing her dark blue underwear and bra, so Lexa draped her damp towel around them both. “Find something interesting in there?” She asked, and Clarke held up the small rock and the ribbon. “Oh yeah, I had forgotten about those. I found that in my broken backpack when I was 8, I think. I honestly don’t know where it came from, but I found it right after I moved in with Gus, so it seemed like a good luck charm to me. I always kept the rock in a drawer in my desk but you can tell the ribbon got a little more wear and tear.” Lexa said, fondly taking the ribbon out of Clarke’s hand. She had tied it around her wrist for years on special days that she needed good luck.  
“You never recognized it, did you?” Clarke asked, looking over at Lexa. Lexa looked up and saw that Clarke’s eyes were filled with softness and a little wet.  
“Recognized it?” Lexa asked confused.  
“Lex, it was my ribbon.” Clarke said with a smile and Lexa’s mouth fell open.

“Holy shit, are you serious?” Lexa asked, and Clarke nodded softly.  
“Yeah, remember that day in 2nd grade when Finn pushed you into the desks?” Lexa nodded. “Well, I felt bad and I wanted to help, so during lunch I snuck back into the classroom. I tried to fix your backpack, but I ended up just wrapping up that rock in my ribbon and putting it in your bag. In my 8 year old mind, I figured it was worth something and could help you out. In reality, it was just a piece of gravel with pyrite.”  
“Oh my god, I remember that ribbon! You used to wear it all the time!” Lexa clapped a hand over her mouth.  
“Yeah, my dad gave me a set of silk ribbons and the blue one was my favorite.” Clarke replied.  
“I never recognized it, I can’t believe it, Clarke, this ribbon has been one of my most important treasures for years.”  
“I guess even when we were apart, you were still stuck with a little bit of me in your life.” Clarke smiled, giving Lexa’s leg a squeeze.  
“Yeah, I just can’t shake you no matter how hard I try. Clarke, will you marry me?”  
“I already said yes.” Clarke smiled and pulled Lexa in for a deep kiss, the ribbon forgotten in her lap.


End file.
